Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry

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CarmineRed

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Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« on: 3 Sep 2022, 12:38 am »
I picked up a used x-cherry 2 channel amp but I'm used to tube sound and power.

Looking for a tube pre-amp with a remote and bypass too.  Something that would add warmness and that holographic tube sound.

Any suggestions?  Budget is $3-4k and used is preferred.

RonN5

Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #1 on: 3 Sep 2022, 02:26 am »
I used the Belles 22a and with the 12au7 tubes you could optimize the sound…. But I suspect there are a lot of good options that will allow you to add… or not… additional “tube” sound and soundstage.

One piece of advice… the speaker connections on the x Cherry are very close together and not insulated and it is easy to accidentally short the connections out. I used some plastic tubing to create a sheath to isolate them from each other.

CarmineRed

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #2 on: 3 Sep 2022, 02:45 am »
Thanks for the tip, I've read about that and don't want to short these out with no replacements available.

What did you use?  Could you use banana plugs and then use electrical tape around the terminals?

MttBsh

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #3 on: 3 Sep 2022, 03:47 am »
Thanks for the tip, I've read about that and don't want to short these out with no replacements available.

What did you use?  Could you use banana plugs and then use electrical tape around the terminals?

You can find the answer on page 2 of this thread https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=180720.20

CarmineRed

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #4 on: 3 Sep 2022, 04:08 am »
Thank you @MttBsh

CarmineRed

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #5 on: 3 Sep 2022, 04:10 am »
Would it be difficult to replace the terminals with ones that have plastic on the outside?  Might cut down on the risk of shorting?

morganc

Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #6 on: 3 Sep 2022, 10:47 am »
I had the Don Sachs with a Megaschino and the pairing was fantastic.  Those 6SN7 tubes are glorious with the Cherry amps. I’d also look at Allnic.

CarmineRed

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #7 on: 3 Sep 2022, 03:25 pm »
I had the Don Sachs with a Megaschino and the pairing was fantastic.  Those 6SN7 tubes are glorious with the Cherry amps. I’d also look at Allnic.

Interesting!  Did you buy it new?  If you look on Don's site he says you need to change the cap to match the input impedance of the cherry being 20k, did you have that done?  Or did it not matter?

morganc

Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #8 on: 3 Sep 2022, 04:19 pm »
I've owned several of his Pre's and did buy one new. 
He's easy to email and talk to, Ie if you find one used, buy it, open it up and email him and he will tell you what's needed.  I recently upgraded caps on my Don Sachs amp and it costs $60 for a local tech to do it better than I could. 

RonN5

Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #9 on: 3 Sep 2022, 04:43 pm »
As for the protective sheaths… I just used some black plastic sprinkler tubing… cut it to 1.5” long and sliced it vertically for easy on and off.

CarmineRed

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #10 on: 3 Sep 2022, 05:35 pm »
As for the protective sheaths… I just used some black plastic sprinkler tubing… cut it to 1.5” long and sliced it vertically for easy on and off.

Drip line tubing, thought that looked familiar ;)

CarmineRed

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #11 on: 4 Dec 2022, 08:51 pm »
Are you losing out if you use a preamp that doesn't have XLR outputs?

Since the Cherry is fully balanced are you losing anything if you don't use the XLR and use a converter?

genjamon

Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #12 on: 5 Dec 2022, 02:08 am »
I’m auditioning the Black Ice Audio preamp right now. Just took delivery yesterday, so no good comparisons with my Don Sachs Pre yet. But with all the other features on the pre, it’ll be interesting for sure.

But in bring it up because it’s 6sn7-based, has remote, and XLR ins/outs along with RCAs, is $2500 base price, and 45 day trial period. They also offer a ton of upgrade options if you want to go down that road. If it sounds promising to me after a few weeks, I’m likely to go down the upgrade path myself.

With only about five hours on it, I wouldn’t put it on the warm side of the tube spectrum, but it’s only five hours in. And using stock Sovtek tube.

MttBsh

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Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #13 on: 5 Dec 2022, 04:55 pm »
genjamon - did you get the F360? I've read some really nice reviews of this pre. Would you please share your impressions after some more hours on it? thanks.

genjamon

Re: Tube preamp to pair with x-cherry
« Reply #14 on: 5 Dec 2022, 05:09 pm »
Yes, it's the F360 - I think that's their only preamp.  I ordered it after hearing it and the rest of their system at Capital Audio Fest and being impressed.  They were using all stock versions of their electronics, though the F360 at the show did have a Sophia Electric 6sn7 tube. 

Yeah, I'll try to give an update after the sound has settled in.  But warning you it will probably take me several months.  Black Ice Audio generally says their gear can take up to 1500 hours to settle in, because they don't put much voltage on the tubes at all.  Good for tube life, but makes break in take that much longer.  I also don't listen more than a couple hours a week most weeks, though I'll have the equipment on 24/7 in hopes of making it further through the break in before the 45 days are up.