[sunnydaze]

Sometimes I think we can drive ourselves off the road into the cornfield in this hobby.
Who stands behind Blueberries SAS's and EX things 5 or 10 years down the road. Not exactly a mainstream diet!
Now I don't care who you are that's funny right there, blueberries and diet, get it?

Simple tube circuits with no proprietary parts to my knowledge.  Any competent tech can work on them.  Defunct companies are no biggie to me.  In a way I actually prefer it -- same excellent sound as when new, at much lower prices.     

[doug s.]

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/463443

 

doug s.

[ddafoe]

Any thoughts on the Rogue Audio Perseus Magnum Preamp? 

I've seen them used in the $1300-1400 range and am intrigued by them.   I just purchased a ModWright KWA 100SE and am also looking for a used tube preamp in the $1000-$1500 range.  There is no Rogue Audio dealer in my area so I would have to purchase one unheard.   The ModWright Swl9.0se is maybe the obvious choice in my case though, not that I've heard that one either.

[medium jim]

Just a thought, if you're a DIY'er, go with a Bottlehead Foreplay III and you will have enough to also build a nice companion phono pre and still have some money left over. 

I have a upgraded Foreplay II that rivals my McIntosh MX-110.  Yeah, my MX-110 is 50 years old, but I would take it over anything in the marketplace up to 5K.

If the OP can live with vintage that had been serviced, there are always a nice MX-110 out there and the added bonus is tube FM that is amazingly good.

No balanced outs or dedicated subs outs on the MX-110, you can build a Foreplay with dedicated sub outs, don't think you can mod them for balanced outs though.

Jim

[audiobat]

CHEAP, cheap, cheap, is always good because you never get what you pay for... you get what you find.
The problem with that philosophy is you also settle for what you find, it then becomes the best in your mind.
Like a 50yr old McIntosh preamp or a Bottlehead thing is the best preamp under $5K?

[jtwrace]

Yeah, my MX-110 is 50 years old, but I would take it over anything in the marketplace up to 5K.

Guess you haven't tried a TRL Dude then.   

[rollo]

     Do not overlook the Nightshade Beacon preamp. Ka Boom for the buck. Dynamic as heck, great bass and a midrange to write home about. Had one for quite some time. Gave my reference pre a Loesch & Weisner a good scare. Overall the L&W was the choice but man was it close. Too close for the price difference.
    The Dude is a great  pre as well just the cost of entry will set you back a bit.


charles

[decal]

CHEAP, cheap, cheap, is always good because you never get what you pay for... you get what you find.
The problem with that philosophy is you also settle for what you find, it then becomes the best in your mind.
Like a 50yr old McIntosh preamp or a Bottlehead thing is the best preamp under $5K?

Just keep repeating to yourself, mine is the best,mine is the best,mine is the best,mine is the best,mine is the best. You can always make yourself believe yourself !!!!!!!

[pjnad]

I bought a preowned Modwright SWL 9.0 Signature last year and am very pleased with it as well as with Dan and the rest of the Modwright crew.
A few sellers were offering the pre, some with the upgraded rectifier, some with the upgraded caps...Dan was nice enough to look at all the photos the sellers had sent me and described the various units. I finally found an original factory Signature and Dan confirmed the production info for me.
I had an issue with a potential ground loop in my system, Dan offered to take the pre in to give it a once over and make ceratin that it wasn't at fault. so, great communication and service.
Sonically it's great and responds really well to tube rolling...I suppose that it would be a great companion to your KWA, especially if you like the Modwright "sound".

[doug s.]

Just a thought, if you're a DIY'er, go with a Bottlehead Foreplay III and you will have enough to also build a nice companion phono pre and still have some money left over. 

I have a upgraded Foreplay II that rivals my McIntosh MX-110.  Yeah, my MX-110 is 50 years old, but I would take it over anything in the marketplace up to 5K.

If the OP can live with vintage that had been serviced, there are always a nice MX-110 out there and the added bonus is tube FM that is amazingly good.

No balanced outs or dedicated subs outs on the MX-110, you can build a Foreplay with dedicated sub outs, don't think you can mod them for balanced outs though.

Jim

jim, you need to listen to more gear.     if mcintosh tube preamps are anything like their tubed tunas, then they are decent, but highly over-rated, and can easily be outperformed for far less money.  (a sherwood tubed tuna in decent shape, readily awailable for ~$50-$200, will outperform any tubed mac tuna in any condition - even one that has been refurb'd and modded to the gills.  amhik.    )

yust the fact that an inexpensive <$500 preamp rivals your mx-110, (like the foreplay you mentioned), is proof there's likely dozens of preamps under $2k, (let alone <$5k!?!), that will perform much better than the mx-110.

ymmv,

doug s.

[medium jim]

CHEAP, cheap, cheap, is always good because you never get what you pay for... you get what you find.
The problem with that philosophy is you also settle for what you find, it then becomes the best in your mind.
Like a 50yr old McIntosh preamp or a Bottlehead thing is the best preamp under $5K?

Please don't tell my Marantz 9's that, or it will file for divorce!  It isn't about how much it costs, but how good it sounds and that's my philosophy!

Jim

[medium jim]

jim, you need to listen to more gear.     if mcintosh tube preamps are anything like their tubed tunas, then they are decent, but highly over-rated, and can easily be outperformed for far less money.  (a sherwood tubed tuna in decent shape, readily awailable for ~$50-$200, will outperform any tubed mac tuna in any condition - even one that has been refurb'd and modded to the gills.  amhik.    )

yust the fact that an inexpensive <$500 preamp rivals your mx-110, (like the foreplay you mentioned), is proof there's likely dozens of preamps under $2k, (let alone <$5k!?!), that will perform much better than the mx-110.

ymmv,

doug s.

Doug,

I used to think the same, until the owner of Shelley's Stereo, a long time McIntosh Dealer sold me the MX-110 that simply shined above the crowd.  It has some tweaks to shorten the signal path and make it more neutral. 

Trust me, it wasn't the first or last pre that I've owned, in fact I sold my C22 because of the MX-110.   Funny that a dinasaur still commands around $1500.00.  The Bottlehead is a very well designed preamp that has a very quiet sound floor and lets the music do its own thing....I was very happily surprised by it.

It's not always about the name or how much, but how it performs. I will let the well heeled deep pockets pay the money and enjoy what I have and know that I have a system that gives me goose bumps for a lot less! I will spend whatever it takes to acheive what my ears like, or save as well...

Jim

[doug s.]

Doug,

I used to think the same, until the owner of Shelley's Stereo, a long time McIntosh Dealer sold me the MX-110 that simply shined above the crowd.  It has some tweaks to shorten the signal path and make it more neutral. 

Trust me, it wasn't the first or last pre that I've owned, in fact I sold my C22 because of the MX-110.   Funny that a dinasaur still commands around $1500.00.  The Bottlehead is a very well designed preamp that has a very quiet sound floor and lets the music do its own thing....I was very happily surprised by it.

It's not always about the name or how much, but how it performs. I will let the well heeled deep pockets pay the money and enjoy what I have and know that I have a system that gives me goose bumps for a lot less! I will spend whatever it takes to acheive what my ears like, or save as well...

Jim

jim, i certainly agree that what is important is achieving what sounds good for your ears!     but, regarding the ultimate sound of the mx-110, your own comments about a retail  <$500 modern preamp rivaling it speak wolumes more that i ever could say.   

regarding the fact that the mx-110's sell for ~$1500, well, that does not surprise me at all.  i find it funny that you say it's not about the name or how much it costs but, how it performs.  because, w/wintage mcintosh's, it is all about the name - they sell for far more than they're worth on a sonic basis, imo, solely because of the brand name.  mcintosh has cache.

i have owned several pieces of mac gear.  p-26 preamp in good shape - it positively sucked, at any price.  mr77 tuna; refurb'd - it positively sucked at any price.  mr74 tuna; mint - it positively sucked at any price.  (and note that the 74 and 77 are considered mac's best sounding s/s efforts, w/the 78 having the best reception.)  mr65b tuna - refurb'd and modded to the gills - it sounded wery nice, but it was way overpriced for how it sounded - as i said before, any decent condition wintage sherwood tubed tuner (s3000ll or later) will sound better and be at least as good reception-wise.

ymmv,

doug s.

[medium jim]

Doug:

Funny, none of what you mentioned is tube based.  Could it be that McIntosh earned the cache! Sherwood was at best low to mid fi and never will arise to the quality of build, performance of the other tube based tuners of the day. 

BTW, the Bottlehead is a kit, ergo, the $500.00 price for the basic model.  With mods will go up to $1000.00 and if you buy it built by Bottlehead, look at $1000 to $1500 new. 

The beauty of all of this is that people have different philosophy's and different ears.  I didn't buy the MX-110 because it was a McIntosh, I bought it because it was simply a wonderful preamp that also had a top shelf Tube Tuner that is yummy.

At the same time, I spent 10K for my Marantz 9's and then 2k to put in NOS.  Why, because it was the best sounding tube mono's out there...I would have preferred to pay much less, but there just wasn't anything comparable....I'm sure that there will be a lot who will say this or that are better, so be it, not to me and I'm the only one who matters at the end of the day. 

BTW, I didn't buy them because of their cache or that some consider them to be one of the finest monoblocks ever made. 

Curious, have you ever auditioned a C22 or C20, or even a MX-110 or is your opinion solely based on SS gear from McIntosh?

Jim

[Cheeseboy]

I'm really enjoying my Generation 2 Dodd Battery Preamp.  Mine is a line source only.  The sound is detailed and precise.  I have upgraded to the Gold End 6H30 tube.  The preamp delivers the music.  It also has a remote.  I'm a very happy camper.  Get off the grid.  Battery power is great!

[medium jim]

I agree battery pre's are wonderful, a well to do friend of mine has Nagra Pre that uses a battery.  Man, I do miss not having a remote, it is all a trade off.

Jim

[doug s.]

Doug:

Funny, none of what you mentioned is tube based.  Could it be that McIntosh earned the cache! Sherwood was at best low to mid fi and never will arise to the quality of build, performance of the other tube based tuners of the day. 

sorry, jim - mr65b tuna is tubed.  and wery nice sounding, for sure.  my stephen sank modded and refurb'd 65b was a thing of beauty.  but, the sherwood tubers simply are superior sounding, and a little better reception to boot.  give me low-to-mid fi all day long!     one thing is certain - you have never heard a sherwood tubed tuner.   

doug s.

[medium jim]

Doug:

I would not bet on that...

Jim

[Cheeseboy]

It is a trade off.  I am willing to sacrifice the last few inches of fidelity for the convenience of the remote.  When you add the battery, off the AC grid sound, In my opinion it is a push.  Not that I would'nt own an SAS product in a heart beat any day of the week.  Just can't seem to get my fat ass off the couch fast enough these days. 

The other used Pre Amp I enjoyed was the Conrad Johnson Premier LS17.  It is a little over the money but worth it.

Someone earlier referenced the Doge product.  I have heard the Doge and it is a very good preamp for the money. 

[ecramer]

Rogue Audio Ninety-Nine Vacuum Tube Pre-amplifier. lover mine and used fall into your price range