[Vinnie R.]

All,

I found that this thread started to get off topic, so I split it and the rest of it can be found here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=52127.0

Vinnie
 

[aaudioman]

as far as preamp go I have found that a properly done preamp with a vacuum tube circuit is the way to go compared to a SS preamp
the vacuum tube amplifies the signal extremally well and the soundstage is bigger and deeper with more air around the instruments.
I have used the 30 with a Dodd  battery preamp it sounded excellent ,very quiet with gobs of detail. Vinnie is spot on with going with a Vacuum tube in his pre. Good tubes will run you $2-300  and I can tell you for sure  Herbies tube dampers do work .
as well as extreme silver gold paste on the tube pins .

[kyrill]

my two cents for using a preamp or not
I prefer Vinnie's amp WITHOUT the remote volume control
why?
its input then is 100k compared to 20k with the remote volume control.
So?
I also have Burson's audio buffer which function is to optimize impedance characteristics
of source out impedance and (pre)amp input impedance.

normally sources have an output impedance of 150-250 ohms sometimes 350 ohms or even higher over 600 ohms!

20k input impedance is on the low side and will sonically benefit a great deal if the source  output impedance is low 
Low is under 100R. The Burson's audio buffer has an input impedance of 500k and an output impedance of  30 ohms
Anyway my source has an output impedance of 250 ohms and my AKSA/Aspen preamp sounds more clear crisp dynamic with the burson  than without it feeding the 30.2 without volume control
then I omitted the preamp and directly feed the 30.2 . The 3D image became a bit less 3D and so on, meaning the tube was out of the signal path. But wonderful sound. Then out of curiosity i omitted the buffer as well and lo and behold, the sound became more transparent and crisp while the Buffer is "famous" for its super low distortion and high transparency. The 30.2 with 100k input impedance had no problems at all with the 250 ohms impedance out of my source. The GK-1 preamp on the other hand with its 47k input ( not that low)  however benefitted from the burson audio buffer. So my guess is  that the lower 20k from the 30.2 ( +volume control) will sound less than the 100k input impedance from the 30.2 without volume control with sources with relative high output impedance. Sounds less is relative. The great and earned very outstanding reviews of the 30.2 with volume control still stands. But i would not be surprised, cause i guess the sans control sounds even better. Then a preamp with volume control and high input impedance and tubes will be a perfect match
Vinnie can you comment on this?

[TONEPUB]

Also having great luck with the 30.2 and the Croft Polestar...
Solid state, but battery powered.

Can't wait for that Isabella, I'll bet that's going to be a great
match...

[dburna]

Thought I'd provide an update on what I finally settled on for a pre-amp to mate with my Sig 30.2.  At the advice of Dan Mason (dmason), I gave the Mapletree 2A Line SE a whirl and.......wow!  No really, wow!  It's a terrific pre-amp for the money.  I'd put it up against many pre-amps more expensive.  It's not the last word in anything , but is highly musical, adds a terrific dose of warmth in conjunction with the RWA amp, and the synergy is absolutely fantastic.  And I haven't even played with tube rolling, power cords, or anything else.  I'm using Philco 12SN7 tubes and a Sylvania 6xG5 (or whatever the regulator tube designation is), so there are additional benefits to be had here.

Will this pre-amp stand up to the Isabella (or other top pre-amps)?  Well, probably not, but I'm in just over $600 for this pre-amp, and I can't imagine investing less than $2-3k for an improvement.  As I mentioned, a good deal is probably the synergy: simple pre-amp circuit + octal tubes + RWA/T-amp = a terrific sounding recipe. 

So, thanks again for your sage advice, dmason.  Very much appreciated.  Any folks looking for an inexpensive pre-amp partner for the Sig 30/30.2, look no further.  Those that know me will know that I don't gush often or use superlatives when talking about audio equipment.  I'm just really happy with the combo, especially since I've had other "impulse buys" that didn't work out nearly so well.

As a musical aside, two artists that sound great, great, great with this combo are Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins "Rabbit Fur Coat" and anything/everything Richard Hawley has done as a solo artist.  For those of you who don't know Richard Hawley, look him up, you'll be very glad you did.  He's the guitarist for Blur (I think, or one of those Brit bands that all seem to sound the same -- unimpressive -- to me), but his solo work is stellar.  It's a nostalgic sound that harkens back to the days of '50's-style crooners, but with a pastiche that combines other influences as well.  Hawley doesn't sound like anyone else playing right now....good for him, not so good for other artists.  He's a singular talent.  I'm glad he has followed his own muse in addition to his other (considerable) session work.

Back to the music now.  Listening to "Festival in the Desert" right now, a live document of a concert in Mali in 2003.  Absolutely, positively great.  No refunds given and none needed.

Best, -dB

[Mariusz]

Dodd full battery powered preamp.  However my RWA amp is the Sig.30 not 30.2.

[raytheprinter]

I am using a Supratek Chardonnay with very good results! My 30.2 has around 500 hours on it .

[TONEPUB]

Goin Vintage, using the Sig 30.2 with a Krell Pam-5.

Awesome combination...