[Northman]

Greetings, all. I've got a Magtech driving 1.7i speakers and I'd like to try a tube pre. I like what I'm reading about the Cary preamp and, frankly, I like the way it looks. (I want to see the tubes!) Has anyone tried this combination? They offer a 30-day home trial, so I can hear for myself but I'm interested in any thoughts or recommendations.

Many thanks!

[Chops]

What's your current preamp?

I've used and heard some Cary gear in the past and really liked the sound. Believe it or not, I ran an SLI-80 in a pair of Maggie MGLR-1's back in the day, and that 50 watts of KT-88 power did a pretty darn good job. The source at the time was a Cary CD-306/200. I also had a pair of Infinity 6 Kappa's that the Cary combo did a great job with.

Man... That was 20+ years ago now!

In short, I'd say go for the SLP-98. You can always do some tube-rolling to tailor the sound as well.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I run a BAT Tube preamp with my SS Pass amp.  Go for it.  Just make sure the impedance it fairly matched to your amp.