[Robin Hood]

Has anyone compared this two preamps? I read the website reviews of preamps or other audio gear and I often get more confused than ever as these reviews often imply that everything is great.

So I readily accept that both these preamps are great but if your preamp budget was a maximum of $3,000, which tube preamp would you choose and why?

I believe there is no right or wrong answer here but I would like opinions. I sometimes liken choices such as this to declaring who is the most beautiful woman in the world. Among my top ten there are no losers and in my fantasy world I would be very happy with any of of the ten.

[DTB300]

NOTE:  I have not heard the Doge 8.

The ET3 is a nice tube Pre Amp for $2500, but is much improved in the ET3SE with the Teflon Caps.  The ET3SE is $4000 MSRP - you can probably get it for $3600.  Getting the SE upgrade later on will cost a little over $2k.  So if you are going to get the ET3, save up another few hundred and get the SE version.

Tubes:  Tube replacement cost will be higher in the Doge due to the number of tubes.

ET3 only needs ONE tube - 6922/6DJ8/7DJ8
Doge 8 needs EIGHT tubes - 4 12AX7, and 4 12AT7