I recently switched from a solid state preamp to a tube amp for the first time and I have been in love with the sound. I tried the lta microzotl but the leaner sound and the volume control injecting clicks into my sub made it a no go. Happy with my modwright ls100 and looking forward to upgrading to the ls99 or 300..one day. One thing that I am discovering with tubes is the ymmv aspect when rolling with tubes. I tried upgrading to Sophia electric tubes and for some reason, they were very noisy…even after trying 2 pairs.
I'm not sure I'd call the LS99 an upgrade from the LS100. In my opinion, the LS100 is preferable because it has 6SN7 tubes. While the LS99 is balanced and the LS100 is not you can call Dan at ModWright and have him add a balanced output transformer. As for tubes for an LS100 Id strongly suggest NOS RCA 6SN7. They're lovely.
You may want to try the Tung Sol 6sn7 and/or Electroharmonix 6sn7. I have both. The Tung Sol is a good all rounder and is noise free. The EH adds modest improvements to the treble, mids, and a fuller bass response while also providing a bigger soundstage over the Tung Sols. For the EH, I purchased the Platinum level from Upscale Audio...it too is silent. I believe both are new stock which greatly contributes to their silence. However, I recently installed a pair of Sylvania GTB 6sn7 and didn't enjoy them much...no improvement over the Tung Sol nor the EH and they had a noticeably elevated noise floor. Good luck.
@@russellmoore5739Agree 100% in a tube pre, 6SN7’s really do sound nice in that spot. Also second you on the NOS or even just OS RCA’s that still measure well. A lot of preamp type tubes from back then still test as better than new.
Cool video, Steve. I've been loving my Schiit Freya N tube preamp, especially the fact that it probably offers 95% of the Modwright's performance for almost a tenth of the cost! It's a groovy time to be an audio enthusiast with all these great companies making wonderful products at all price points. :)
First of all, time thank you for all the great reviews and audio entertainment. It's been a joy for and old retired guy filling his days with something interesting. Keep up the great work. I began using a tube hybrid preamp, a RP-5 Rogue and have really enjoyed the tube rolling and the ability to dial in my system as I please. I doubt that I will ever get self-powered speakers. I like driving and would never get a self driving car just for that feature. Stay engaged and learn things.
Another great review… and yes , I am in the same camp.. love my Belles HYBRED tube preamp. The illusion of the music is magnified with tubes.. Mod Wright is a very high quality company..
I just purchased a Vincent SA500 integrated tube preamp amplifier. I couldn’t be happier. Only 50 watts but 50 incredibly strong watts. For me end game . Powerful sweet sound with tekton lores. Please review. I love mine.
@@corymorris5800 I have the smallest Vincent at 50 watts and I see no reason to go for more with the tekton lores. It opens them up better than even running dual Schiit Vidars. I’ve been ecstatic about the performance although not a lot of bells and whistles but I like that. The remote is high quality metal simple but sweet. I love the fact that it’s A/B with tubes and not class D. Even high quality class D with 400 watts didn’t open the Tekton’s the same way or the Vidar’s.
. (analog) PreAmps DO Rule! System build? Start with the volume control & work out. And the Audiophiliac brings us this gem when so many others are reviewing the same pair of budget 2-ways today. Yuck. Thanks Steve.
Thanks, Steve. Great review. I own the Modwright LS100 preamp. It was great to hear your thoughts on the LS99. I got to get to listen to it soon. If there are someone here that know both the LS100 and the 99, I’d be very interested to hear what they think.
My first Tube Preamp was a Dynaco PAS3 kit in 1965. AND my Second Tube Preamp was the succesor to it. That is the Dynaco PAS-3X, whose only differences from the original "plain 3" were a modified output impedance fit for the Transistorised "Stereo 120", AND an active "Neutral" detent-position on the treble, and bass controls
I own the ModWright PH 9.0XT Tube Phono Stage and absolutely love it. It's the best Phono preamp I've ever had in my system. I will check out the LS99, as I love tubes as well.
I sent my 9.0 in for the XT upgrade and love it. They are now selling a proprietary umbilical cable and I bought one of those as well. I also upgraded the tubes inside to Telefunken 6922 NOS. Glad you like yours!!
I'm a bit new to the hobby and only have used or lower end gear. I did recently get a Chord Mojo2 and it's a pretty good DAC. I've used it straight into my amp and then tried it with my inexpensive Fosi P1 Tube pre-amp. The tube sound, to me, gives things an edge and brings more life/energy to the recordings. Especially rock and blues. I will eventually upgrade but it's staying "in line" for now.
The earlier Modwright preamp ( 6SN7) was not a full tube design.........but a hybrid ! There were often reliability problems or hum ( especially on headphone ) I don't if the new model is pure tube ? Anyway , nothing can equal a good tube preamp ..........SS means SEMI conductors ( = halbleiter , that means semi conducting, crystaline silicium ) As many other diy audiophiles I build them myself without the usual commercial limitations and compromizes...........and they do not hum but are totaly silent . The tube does something that gets lost wit SS and digital ........I use strictly only nos tubes. Yes there are good solid state amplifiers , better than cheap designed tube amplifiers .....but in the end , the tube is KING.
Agreed! I had the LS100 preamp. 3rd owner. Found that the HT bypass didn't work. The previous owners were stereo only folk, so hadn't tried HT bypass. Shipped it to Modwright and they replaced everything but the chassis (shipping from South Africa was horrendous price though).
All tube system here. I did a before/after experiment with my pre-amp. I don't have a great vocabulary for describing sound, but I have to say the pre-amp being absent resulted in dullness. I am always chasing "being there" with my system. A pre-amp took me 1 step closer.
I am not into tubes yet at some point would like to have one or more pieces to have a nice contrast. Great review, has my attention. Always hard to know without actually listening.
Steve, I see that there, hiding in plain sight… “Ralf und Florian”, one of my favorite albums from my youth. I loved listening to it while looking at the back of the album cover. I wish I still had it 😢.
Didn't see that until you mentioned it. I would say it's thier best album ...my copy (kinda) had a hard life ...and have it back now. I had previously been listening to an up load on TH-cam that was decent. Kraftwerk I and II are also there. Would sound nice through tubes ... that won't be happening for me ...I've got 15% of the preamp reviewed here invested in my total system....Ralf and Florian sounds pretty good through my modified Bose 301serisII(Avent fried eggs in front with new crossover) along with two more pairs of home built speakers that cost almost nothing.Fortunately Mosfet based amplifiers were plentiful in the eighties and nineties and sound pretty good too.
@@stevengagnon4777,,, Glad to hear others share an appreciation of “Ralf und Florian”. I should get my Amp Camp Amp kit back on its feet (it needs volume control, somehow) and give RUF a whirl from TH-cam if I can’t scrape up a better copy.
Love the shirt. I a retired math, physics and engineering teacher. Your shirt continuously distracted me from your review, sorry about but wave theory is part of my thing.
Hi Steve, i hope that you and yours are well. I'll pass on to others that tube preamps can be a match with a solid state amp or vice versa. I have slowed down a bit on buying gear. My latest find are the Bluesound Pulse Mini and the Pulse M. They are great little streaming speakers for a bedroom or kitchen.
Brushed your hair for this episode perhaps it’s a new look I haven’t noticed till now. Love the Organ or synth music at the beginning. If you could add a little bit more, perhaps, at transitions or going into a commercial. Maybe related to what you’re talking about. We all know that we’re not going to get perfect audio file. Sound but it really adds to the episode.
You mention Viva. I first heard an amp & preamp set up in the early 2000's and was floored by how lively, fast, and how powerfully the transients just leapt out of the big Rockports the 845 tube amps were connected to. I just remember the jump and live feel listening to that system. Well, I recently bought a Viva Linea-Fono preamp in great shape. It should outperform my nice Hovland HP 100 preamp, but I still like it a lot. I have a few tube amps on hand and I'm anxious to try the Viva out on my Lamm ML-1.1 and heavily modded Sonic Frontiers Power 3s now using KT120s, both are monoblocks. I hope that Viva preamp lives up to and exceeds my fond memory of that all Viva system so many years ago
Making a comment, as a human, to offset the amount of bots. Nice looking piece. Saw the Pixies in 1990, at the student center, at college. I was only feet away from the stage, which was only one step higher than the floor.
My son saw them last Thursday... I heard about it on Friday.. reminds me of missing the last Ramones concert in Amsterdam by hearing about it the day after 🙄😭😎
Neutrality is a fine comment Steve if you talk about solid state. Because solid state in general is more neutral sounding. But talking about tubes that they add something and solid state being more accurate I have a problem with. A good tube amplifier mostly sounds more natural. Bad ones add something and do not sound accurate. But we don’t buy those of course. What you are sensitive for mostly makes what you choose. Either solid state of tubegear.
all knows the secret of good stereo image and full body of music is a valve pre without negative feedback, and is very easy with so many schematics out there to diy one
Agreed on tube preamp magic. Might i suggest the Musical Paradise MP701mk2 at $700-1000 depending on capacitor options? Love to see you review one Steve! 🎵🎶🤫🎶🎵
As good as it may sound, it's not XLR-based. Very disappointing in this era. Unfortunately, that will dissaude many from even considering its magic, including myself. Too much money invested to convert to RCA.
@@Artemis_Prix Agreed. Id love to drive my Bryston amp tube balanced. I use a DSPeaker Antimode dac pre for that currently. Since you can *Mod*. the Sch**t Freya's coupling caps I'm tempted to try. *Wright?* But i would still keep the MP! Both options are a better fit for the "First tube preamp" crown. And you could buy both for less than a third of the MW preamp price;-)
@carlitomelon4610 Yes, Agreed. I also have a Freya+ driving my PS Audio BHK250 amp. Out of the box, it was very clinical and shallow sounding, even with the Tung Sol premium tubes. But, it did open up quite a bit after breaking in. Once I added the Electroharmonix tubes to the gain stage in combination with the Tung Sols on the buffer stage, everything improved from there. However, the Freya+ has removed some of the dynamics that my DAC/LPS combo is providing, and had replaced that with its own dynamics. I really want those dynamics back and it's quite possible the capacitors in the Freya is what is filtering that out. There are some videos outlining what caps to use (Munford Evo oil and V-cap ODAM), but those are midfi level. Any ideas on what you plan to install?
@@Artemis_Prix I've read that observation on the Freya. From my experience with both V-cap ODAMs and Mundorf SGO Supremes in the Musical Paradise, I'd go with the V-caps. The Mundorf have a pleasant warm character, but it sounds like you don't want that imposed on every recording (I suspect the huge "high end" copper & beeswax caps have even more character)! V-caps are just so transparent. They are "high end" at $150 each btw....don't you need 4 for the Freya?? 🎵🎶🤔🎶🎵 PS VH has a web calculator for selecting the correct coupling capacitor values for your amp's input impedance. There's a link on Eric's Hifi blog's review of the MP701mk2. I hope you won't need 4.7uf. $pendy! Not too much space in the Freya either...
Steve! I would love to get your take on matching tube preamps with solid state power amps. Shockingly few TH-cam videos on the subject other than ultra high end. Pretty please!
I'm curious what you think about the differences you can expect to hear depending upon where in the signal chain tube vs solid state equipment is placed.
A little off-topic and perhaps I'm starting to see ghosts... But I could have sworn I saw you at Amtsterdam airport today. I think it was somewhere near the B gates. I would have stopped to ask and have a coffee, but I was running late for my flight so I had to keep going. Whichever way, I enjoy your content, keep up the good work, cheers.
Dear Steve, what do you feed the mola w please from router to input -streamer?, ethernet cables, switch? Computer, usb ? Hopefully not too too personal lol PS streaming Ghosteen on my 5a s right now -ty
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac I figured as much once I got the notification there was a new review. Anyway, you have a doppelganger somewhere in Europe, haha. Have a nice day.
I cannot see the point of buying sperate pre & power amplifiers when there are so many good integrateds out there. I had a pre/power a few years ago and the power amp developed a fault during COVID so I ordered an integrated on line to tie me over and it beat the pre/power hands down. I think integrateds are the way to go! 🙂
I cannot tell a difference between tubes and solid state. I've had a Paragon System E Preamp (6 each 12AX7 tubes)., a Conrad Johnson 75 watt power amp (don't remember the model - MV75?) and most recently a Cary CAD-120s MKII. I purchased the Cary in September. I had it in my system for 4 months. Except for the overripe bass, I found the sound was identical to my Bryston 2.5b^3. I have, however, retained the Paragon E as a phono preamp as it sounds great. In this case, I feel that the design makes the sound, not the tubes. Perhaps my hearing is not as refined as others.
I got my Oppo modded by them and would love to buy their preamp but $6.5k for the entry level option... c'mon why so expensive?? Their previous entry level pre was $2k two years ago... I really don't get the pricing trend in the audio world.
Do you know if that "third" RCA input can be used for anything else besides HTB, such as a CD player, DAC or phono preamp? Otherwise there are really only two RCA inputs.
Im finally happy with my Promitheus TVC transformer passive line stage with Mark Audio Pensil fullrange DIY towers and triapth ta2022 DIY power amp, topping dac and everything interconnected with Canare RCA and wired with Sommer Elephant 440 speaker cable
No worries Steve, its a normal phenomena, as age moves on, a little bit more comfort demands a little bit more sugar and cream in your daily coffee. Enjoy the muddling tubes.
I used to believe that the "high fidelity" industry was about striving to reproduce music as its artist intended us to hear it; without modification by intervening equipment. So I get confused when people venerate equipment which intentionally adds "warmth", "body", "gusto", etc. to the artist's performance. Why would we want to do that?
I don’t get why these amps have the tube vulnerably sticking out like that. I know it looks cool but couldn’t have they made a removable cap over them to protect them?
It looks to me like they want to visually advertise the tubes in their preamp. No matter how pretty the tubes look, I'm left with the impression that that is what they are selling, not necessarily the sound. I would pass, even though the sound may be appealing.
Ja, mich nerven die Preise auch, aber viele die sich beschweren haben halt noch die Flohmärkte der 90er im Kopf wo man 'ne englische Hawkwind oder 'ne deutsche NEU! für 5 -10 DM gefunden hat. Leute das ist 30 Jahre her!
No tone controls, no DAC, no phono stage, no thanks. 6500 dollars is a bad joke. But I love your music suggestions and selections for this episode Steve!
@@kevemaher yeap you are absolutely right. I'm a huge fan of Pass and their prices are becoming totally out of reach too. "High-end" audio is becoming crazy expensive, always was expensive for sure but now is out of control and out or reach for working people. Now $10k products are considered "cheap" or "entry-level", 10 years ago you could get top Pass gear for $10k not entry-level. And it's a trend that affects all the industry. Take a look to the Daniel Hertz bookshelves for example... they are $56k!! $56k for a pair of bookshelves!! 10-15 years ago with that money you could buy a top-notch tower speaker built like a tank from Wilson, Magico or any other elite brand... now a top-notch tower speaker from the same brands are way above $100k. It's sad b/c I think most audiophiles are not chinese billonaires, We are common people mostly professionals and they are alienating us with these stupid pricing trends.
Tube warmth is not a notorious thing. At least it should not be unless you have a bad made amplifier. Same with speed. On the other hand there can be no discussion about taste. And through the years taste can even change.
The price is disgusting. Any reason why this this unit is so much overpriced? I understand there is another unit that is even more overpriced. But thats no excuse.
@@rainerbroennimann1563 depends on the person, budget, taste, origin of manufacture, distribution or direct, quality of parts, tube type, etc. So much. While not inexpensive it doesn’t seem disgusting based.
@@dc_codefactory I am into HiFi and diyaudio since 1972. Since parts are getting cheaper prices for gear made in US or Europe shoots up into the sky makes this Hobby out of reach for younger people. No, I did not listen to this unit as I think the price of a preamp should somehow be in relation to the cost of the parts used.
@@yippie6862 35 years one day, might be 20 another, on a whim 45…and something about walking 15 miles to do some mundane thing that has long since been replaced by the new-fangled internet and the icing “back in my day things used to cost a handshake and basket of blueberries” 🥱 Thanks for the “opinion.” Real valuable insights shared.
I recently switched from a solid state preamp to a tube amp for the first time and I have been in love with the sound. I tried the lta microzotl but the leaner sound and the volume control injecting clicks into my sub made it a no go. Happy with my modwright ls100 and looking forward to upgrading to the ls99 or 300..one day.
One thing that I am discovering with tubes is the ymmv aspect when rolling with tubes. I tried upgrading to Sophia electric tubes and for some reason, they were very noisy…even after trying 2 pairs.
I'm not sure I'd call the LS99 an upgrade from the LS100. In my opinion, the LS100 is preferable because it has 6SN7 tubes. While the LS99 is balanced and the LS100 is not you can call Dan at ModWright and have him add a balanced output transformer. As for tubes for an LS100 Id strongly suggest NOS RCA 6SN7. They're lovely.
You may want to try the Tung Sol 6sn7 and/or Electroharmonix 6sn7. I have both. The Tung Sol is a good all rounder and is noise free. The EH adds modest improvements to the treble, mids, and a fuller bass response while also providing a bigger soundstage over the Tung Sols. For the EH, I purchased the Platinum level from Upscale Audio...it too is silent. I believe both are new stock which greatly contributes to their silence.
However, I recently installed a pair of Sylvania GTB 6sn7 and didn't enjoy them much...no improvement over the Tung Sol nor the EH and they had a noticeably elevated noise floor. Good luck.
@@russellmoore5739Agree 100% in a tube pre, 6SN7’s really do sound nice in that spot. Also second you on the NOS or even just OS RCA’s that still measure well. A lot of preamp type tubes from back then still test as better than new.
Cool video, Steve. I've been loving my Schiit Freya N tube preamp, especially the fact that it probably offers 95% of the Modwright's performance for almost a tenth of the cost! It's a groovy time to be an audio enthusiast with all these great companies making wonderful products at all price points. :)
First of all, time thank you for all the great reviews and audio entertainment. It's been a joy for and old retired guy filling his days with something interesting. Keep up the great work. I began using a tube hybrid preamp, a RP-5 Rogue and have really enjoyed the tube rolling and the ability to dial in my system as I please. I doubt that I will ever get self-powered speakers. I like driving and would never get a self driving car just for that feature. Stay engaged and learn things.
Right-on & Far-out Fletcher. I'm with you.
Another great review… and yes , I am in the same camp.. love my Belles HYBRED tube preamp. The illusion of the music is magnified with tubes.. Mod Wright is a very high quality company..
I just purchased a Vincent SA500 integrated tube preamp amplifier. I couldn’t be happier. Only 50 watts but 50 incredibly strong watts. For me end game . Powerful sweet sound with tekton lores. Please review. I love mine.
I’ve been looking at Vincent integrated for my Tekton perfect set’s
@@corymorris5800 I have the smallest Vincent at 50 watts and I see no reason to go for more with the tekton lores. It opens them up better than even running dual Schiit Vidars. I’ve been ecstatic about the performance although not a lot of bells and whistles but I like that. The remote is high quality metal simple but sweet. I love the fact that it’s A/B with tubes and not class D. Even high quality class D with 400 watts didn’t open the Tekton’s the same way or the Vidar’s.
SV227MK here. Bigger brother of yours. Happy to find another Vincent happy user
@@EMP698 amazing quality for the cost
I'm with you, the Vincent SV-500 make my Tekton Lore's sing!
Excited for the Caladan review!
Nice one brother... SO glad I got my LTA MicroZOTL ... Transformed my system !!!
Preamps Rule ... So do YOU 🤩
. (analog) PreAmps DO Rule! System build? Start with the volume control & work out.
And the Audiophiliac brings us this gem when so many others are reviewing the same pair of budget 2-ways today. Yuck. Thanks Steve.
Thanks, Steve. Great review. I own the Modwright LS100 preamp. It was great to hear your thoughts on the LS99. I got to get to listen to it soon. If there are someone here that know both the LS100 and the 99, I’d be very interested to hear what they think.
My first Tube Preamp was a Dynaco PAS3 kit in 1965. AND my Second Tube Preamp was the succesor to it. That is the Dynaco PAS-3X, whose only differences from the original "plain 3" were a modified output impedance fit for the Transistorised "Stereo 120", AND an active "Neutral" detent-position on the treble, and bass controls
I own the ModWright PH 9.0XT Tube Phono Stage and absolutely love it. It's the best Phono preamp I've ever had in my system. I will check out the LS99, as I love tubes as well.
I sent my 9.0 in for the XT upgrade and love it. They are now selling a proprietary umbilical cable and I bought one of those as well. I also upgraded the tubes inside to Telefunken 6922 NOS. Glad you like yours!!
I'm a bit new to the hobby and only have used or lower end gear. I did recently get a Chord Mojo2 and it's a pretty good DAC. I've used it straight into my amp and then tried it with my inexpensive Fosi P1 Tube pre-amp. The tube sound, to me, gives things an edge and brings more life/energy to the recordings. Especially rock and blues. I will eventually upgrade but it's staying "in line" for now.
That's great thanks for sharing.
The earlier Modwright preamp ( 6SN7) was not a full tube design.........but a hybrid !
There were often reliability problems or hum ( especially on headphone )
I don't if the new model is pure tube ?
Anyway , nothing can equal a good tube preamp ..........SS means SEMI conductors ( = halbleiter , that means semi conducting, crystaline silicium )
As many other diy audiophiles I build them myself without the usual commercial limitations and compromizes...........and they do not hum but are totaly silent .
The tube does something that gets lost wit SS and digital ........I use strictly only nos tubes.
Yes there are good solid state amplifiers , better than cheap designed tube amplifiers .....but in the end , the tube is KING.
Agreed, there's no excuse for noisy SS designs. Can you recommend a good tube preamp circuit?
Yes Peter..........I will share some information as soon as i have some time ..
kind regards .@@peterlarkin762
Have enjoyed dealing with Dan Wright of ModWright in the past; he's definitely a treasure of the audio community.
Agreed! I had the LS100 preamp. 3rd owner. Found that the HT bypass didn't work. The previous owners were stereo only folk, so hadn't tried HT bypass. Shipped it to Modwright and they replaced everything but the chassis (shipping from South Africa was horrendous price though).
Dan, is The Man and The Tube abides 😊
All tube system here. I did a before/after experiment with my pre-amp. I don't have a great vocabulary for describing sound, but I have to say the pre-amp being absent resulted in dullness. I am always chasing "being there" with my system. A pre-amp took me 1 step closer.
I am not into tubes yet at some point would like to have one or more pieces to have a nice contrast. Great review, has my attention. Always hard to know without actually listening.
I have a Ls36.5 from them and really like it. It bring a noble magic sound to my system. Also have a Kwa 150se. Really nice amp.
Steve, I see that there, hiding in plain sight… “Ralf und Florian”, one of my favorite albums from my youth. I loved listening to it while looking at the back of the album cover. I wish I still had it 😢.
Didn't see that until you mentioned it. I would say it's thier best album ...my copy (kinda) had a hard life ...and have it back now. I had previously been listening to an up load on TH-cam that was decent. Kraftwerk I and II are also there. Would sound nice through tubes ... that won't be happening for me ...I've got 15% of the preamp reviewed here invested in my total system....Ralf and Florian sounds pretty good through my modified Bose 301serisII(Avent fried eggs in front with new crossover) along with two more pairs of home built speakers that cost almost nothing.Fortunately Mosfet based amplifiers were plentiful in the eighties and nineties and sound pretty good too.
@@stevengagnon4777,,, Glad to hear others share an appreciation of “Ralf und Florian”. I should get my Amp Camp Amp kit back on its feet (it needs volume control, somehow) and give RUF a whirl from TH-cam if I can’t scrape up a better copy.
Love the shirt. I a retired math, physics and engineering teacher. Your shirt continuously distracted me from your review, sorry about but wave theory is part of my thing.
Me too. Retired physics/electronics teacher. Love the shirt. A good distraction.
Hi Steve, i hope that you and yours are well. I'll pass on to others that tube preamps can be a match with a solid state amp or vice versa. I have slowed down a bit on buying gear. My latest find are the Bluesound Pulse Mini and the Pulse M. They are great little streaming speakers for a bedroom or kitchen.
Lovely show. Would love an AB vs AudioNote, Leben... My faves. Vs Manley and Audio Ref. Tubes are a myriad of synergy.. Thx for this great review.
Brushed your hair for this episode perhaps it’s a new look I haven’t noticed till now. Love the Organ or synth music at the beginning. If you could add a little bit more, perhaps, at transitions or going into a commercial. Maybe related to what you’re talking about. We all know that we’re not going to get perfect audio file. Sound but it really adds to the episode.
Got the LTA z40 and microz pre amp, could not be happier. The combo drive my harbeth hl5 Xds like a champ
I make-do with my supercharged Schiit Freya + (replaced caps & resistors and NOS tubes)…..
…but these MODWRIGHT Preamps seem impressive. 👍🏼
I'm interested in what caps and tubes you decided on.
Saw a Freya recently with 2.2uf v-cap odams.
That should make for a very transparent preamp!
Yeah, what caps did you choose??
V-cap ODAMs??
Modwright, Arc, Allnic, viva, woo, Donald north, auris, and LTA all keeping the tube experience very much alive.
You mention Viva. I first heard an amp & preamp set up in the early 2000's and was floored by how lively, fast, and how powerfully the transients just leapt out of the big Rockports the 845 tube amps were connected to. I just remember the jump and live feel listening to that system. Well, I recently bought a Viva Linea-Fono preamp in great shape. It should outperform my nice Hovland HP 100 preamp, but I still like it a lot. I have a few tube amps on hand and I'm anxious to try the Viva out on my Lamm ML-1.1 and heavily modded Sonic Frontiers Power 3s now using KT120s, both are monoblocks. I hope that Viva preamp lives up to and exceeds my fond memory of that all Viva system so many years ago
Making a comment, as a human, to offset the amount of bots. Nice looking piece. Saw the Pixies in 1990, at the student center, at college. I was only feet away from the stage, which was only one step higher than the floor.
My son saw them last Thursday... I heard about it on Friday.. reminds me of missing the last Ramones concert in Amsterdam by hearing about it the day after 🙄😭😎
Sounds like something a bot would say
@@Pete.across.the.street a very cool bot though 😂
Digging the new glasses Steve!
Thanks
Up the Brighton Massive!! Trust the first Brighton hifi shown to have two decks….one of the reasons I live there…
Hello Steve, when are you going to review the Schiit Skoll? As always I appreciate and respect your reviews. Steve#1 😃
Neutrality is a fine comment Steve if you talk about solid state. Because solid state in general is more neutral sounding. But talking about tubes that they add something and solid state being more accurate I have a problem with. A good tube amplifier mostly sounds more natural. Bad ones add something and do not sound accurate. But we don’t buy those of course. What you are sensitive for mostly makes what you choose. Either solid state of tubegear.
all knows the secret of good stereo image and full body of music is a valve pre without negative feedback, and is very easy with so many schematics out there to diy one
I've made lot's of solid state gear and a valve preamp is next on the list... can you recommend a good circuit?
This maybe great but you lost me on the JJ tubes. Thats a corner at 6k doesn't make sense. I love your channel Steve keep up the good work brother 😎
Agreed on tube preamp magic.
Might i suggest the Musical Paradise MP701mk2 at $700-1000 depending on capacitor options?
Love to see you review one Steve!
🎵🎶🤫🎶🎵
As good as it may sound, it's not XLR-based. Very disappointing in this era. Unfortunately, that will dissaude many from even considering its magic, including myself. Too much money invested to convert to RCA.
@@Artemis_Prixit’s not truly balanced, no, but it does have XLR inputs and outputs for convenience.
@@Artemis_Prix Agreed. Id love to drive my Bryston amp tube balanced. I use a DSPeaker Antimode dac pre for that currently. Since you can *Mod*. the Sch**t Freya's coupling caps I'm tempted to try. *Wright?*
But i would still keep the MP!
Both options are a better fit for the "First tube preamp" crown.
And you could buy both for less than a third of the MW preamp price;-)
@carlitomelon4610 Yes, Agreed. I also have a Freya+ driving my PS Audio BHK250 amp. Out of the box, it was very clinical and shallow sounding, even with the Tung Sol premium tubes. But, it did open up quite a bit after breaking in. Once I added the Electroharmonix tubes to the gain stage in combination with the Tung Sols on the buffer stage, everything improved from there.
However, the Freya+ has removed some of the dynamics that my DAC/LPS combo is providing, and had replaced that with its own dynamics.
I really want those dynamics back and it's quite possible the capacitors in the Freya is what is filtering that out.
There are some videos outlining what caps to use (Munford Evo oil and V-cap ODAM), but those are midfi level. Any ideas on what you plan to install?
@@Artemis_Prix
I've read that observation on the Freya.
From my experience with both V-cap ODAMs and Mundorf SGO Supremes in the Musical Paradise, I'd go with the V-caps.
The Mundorf have a pleasant warm character, but it sounds like you don't want that imposed on every recording (I suspect the huge "high end" copper & beeswax caps have even more character)!
V-caps are just so transparent.
They are "high end" at $150 each btw....don't you need 4 for the Freya??
🎵🎶🤔🎶🎵
PS
VH has a web calculator for selecting the correct coupling capacitor values for your amp's input impedance.
There's a link on Eric's Hifi blog's review of the MP701mk2.
I hope you won't need 4.7uf.
$pendy!
Not too much space in the Freya either...
I love tubes for Jazz!
Steve! I would love to get your take on matching tube preamps with solid state power amps. Shockingly few TH-cam videos on the subject other than ultra high end. Pretty please!
I'm curious what you think about the differences you can expect to hear depending upon where in the signal chain tube vs solid state equipment is placed.
Wait--what?? You have a SIT-4?? I'm sure I haven't missed any of your videos. Looking forward to your review!
A little off-topic and perhaps I'm starting to see ghosts... But I could have sworn I saw you at Amtsterdam airport today. I think it was somewhere near the B gates. I would have stopped to ask and have a coffee, but I was running late for my flight so I had to keep going. Whichever way, I enjoy your content, keep up the good work, cheers.
That's great, but that was not me! I'm still here in Brooklyn.
Dear Steve, what do you feed the mola w please from router to input -streamer?, ethernet cables, switch? Computer, usb ?
Hopefully not too too personal lol PS streaming Ghosteen on my 5a s right now -ty
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac I figured as much once I got the notification there was a new review. Anyway, you have a doppelganger somewhere in Europe, haha. Have a nice day.
My AR SP3A-1, with a few mods by Allegro Sound, is still a killer pre-amp.
I am a fan.
I cannot see the point of buying sperate pre & power amplifiers when there are so many good integrateds out there. I had a pre/power a few years ago and the power amp developed a fault during COVID so I ordered an integrated on line to tie me over and it beat the pre/power hands down. I think integrateds are the way to go! 🙂
Love my Remton Audio mk1 383 phono stage with it's separate power supply.
It’s got that “garage diy project” aesthetics, for $6K.
I cannot tell a difference between tubes and solid state. I've had a Paragon System E Preamp (6 each 12AX7 tubes)., a Conrad Johnson 75 watt power amp (don't remember the model - MV75?) and most recently a Cary CAD-120s MKII. I purchased the Cary in September. I had it in my system for 4 months. Except for the overripe bass, I found the sound was identical to my Bryston 2.5b^3.
I have, however, retained the Paragon E as a phono preamp as it sounds great. In this case, I feel that the design makes the sound, not the tubes.
Perhaps my hearing is not as refined as others.
Hey good review Steve! So this pre-amp has no bass/treble controls? Is the idea to simply "pass thru" the music?
Correct, no base in trouble controls. They are quite rare on most preamplifiers.
I got my Oppo modded by them and would love to buy their preamp but $6.5k for the entry level option... c'mon why so expensive?? Their previous entry level pre was $2k two years ago... I really don't get the pricing trend in the audio world.
The difference between them well said.
Do you know if that "third" RCA input can be used for anything else besides HTB, such as a CD player, DAC or phono preamp? Otherwise there are really only two RCA inputs.
Thanks
Thank you! And compared to your Pass HPA-1 which I have?
Im finally happy with my Promitheus TVC transformer passive line stage with Mark Audio Pensil fullrange DIY towers and triapth ta2022 DIY power amp, topping dac and everything interconnected with Canare RCA and wired with Sommer Elephant 440 speaker cable
Hi Steve,
We’re you able to do an A/B with the LTA preamp?
I love my ModWright tube phono stage. SWP9.0SE
When was the last time you listened to "Yello One Second" 1987. West German pressing (CD) on Mercury/phonogram?
Surabaya - Indonesia.
No worries Steve, its a normal phenomena, as age moves on, a little bit more comfort demands a little bit more sugar and cream in your daily coffee. Enjoy the muddling tubes.
The ear loves 2nd harmonic......
Kinda don't like tubes coming out of case,Steve so when does Caladan review drop,looking forward to that
Thanks, Caladan drops in a week or two.
Steve, have you ever reviewed any PS Audio products? I’m seeing a lot of mixed reviews.
I used to believe that the "high fidelity" industry was about striving to reproduce music as its artist intended us to hear it; without modification by intervening equipment. So I get confused when people venerate equipment which intentionally adds "warmth", "body", "gusto", etc. to the artist's performance. Why would we want to do that?
I too look at 50 years old photographs of my wedding and I am right there,.
I don’t get why these amps have the tube vulnerably sticking out like that. I know it looks cool but couldn’t have they made a removable cap over them to protect them?
It looks to me like they want to visually advertise the tubes in their preamp. No matter how pretty the tubes look, I'm left with the impression that that is what they are selling, not necessarily the sound. I would pass, even though the sound may be appealing.
Many tube equipment have cages.
Tubes get hot and will last longer with proper ventilation.
@@jkbunnell a protecting mesh cage, as said above, would do that just fine. and I think it'd look even nicer, while serving a purpose.
Hey Steve, Please tell me about you're new glasses. Smart Glasses?
Ja, mich nerven die Preise auch, aber viele die sich beschweren haben halt noch die Flohmärkte der 90er im Kopf wo man 'ne englische Hawkwind oder 'ne deutsche NEU! für 5 -10 DM gefunden hat. Leute das ist 30 Jahre her!
If you want tubes and accuracy, then EAR will oblige.
Please excuse my typo errors.(forgot to proof read my comment!, blasted!!)
No tone controls, no DAC, no phono stage, no thanks. 6500 dollars is a bad joke.
But I love your music suggestions and selections for this episode Steve!
Man, 6 grand for a preamp....maybe one day.
crazy and it's the entry level one...
@@net_newsAnd the Pass XP-12 is in the same category,. It is their bottom of the line model.
@@kevemaher yeap you are absolutely right. I'm a huge fan of Pass and their prices are becoming totally out of reach too. "High-end" audio is becoming crazy expensive, always was expensive for sure but now is out of control and out or reach for working people.
Now $10k products are considered "cheap" or "entry-level", 10 years ago you could get top Pass gear for $10k not entry-level. And it's a trend that affects all the industry.
Take a look to the Daniel Hertz bookshelves for example... they are $56k!! $56k for a pair of bookshelves!! 10-15 years ago with that money you could buy a top-notch tower speaker built like a tank from Wilson, Magico or any other elite brand... now a top-notch tower speaker from the same brands are way above $100k.
It's sad b/c I think most audiophiles are not chinese billonaires, We are common people mostly professionals and they are alienating us with these stupid pricing trends.
@@net_news the LS100 is the entry level one.
I’d rather a cable get pulled out when the alternative is bringing a $6500 preamp crashing to the floor.
I was interested until I found that this sucker goes for $6500!
The audio "Time Machine" is completely negated by remixes. Remixes reflect the time the remix was done, not the original mix's time.
Dude, come on. "Your First Tube Preamp".....$6000.00? Really?
OK, maybe the second one.
Why not?
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac😅
As opposed to solid state? Not unreasonable really.
I’m using the heaven 11 Billie as a preamp got that tube thing for a lot less money
Price 6,000 USD. Yeah, not gonna be my first Tube Preamp. i need simpler!
Thanks for watching, check out my review of the Bottlehead Moreplay tube line stage kit, it's under $500.
now only $8,800.00 CAD$ in silver or black
What's with the eyeglasses???
They are high end Japanese frames.
Schiit Freya is probably a better choice if you’re looking to get into tube preamps.
6000$ USD😂😂
He can say $6500 price with straight face. He is better actor than Marlon Brando.
A Croft is much more likely.
Tubes manufactured in Russia? Not right now thanks
These were manufactured when Russia was our friend! But seriously, plenty of options for tubes made in the US, Europe, or China.
Please add to the title of the video, tube preamp for the wealthy!
I'm turned off by boxes with tubes peeking out. Can't get past that. Looks like bad design. I know its fashionable but I don't like it.
PS. Been aggravated by this a while. It's not just modright, just finally had to say it.
$6500 is more than my whole system. It's a money bonfire. I can't take this seriously.
Unless one is a "tube warmth" fan, I don't see the point. I've tried a few and don't care for the loss in detail and speed.
Cool, you don't have to agree with me! You listened and decided for yourself. That's the whole idea.
Tube warmth is not a notorious thing. At least it should not be unless you have a bad made amplifier. Same with speed. On the other hand there can be no discussion about taste. And through the years taste can even change.
The price is disgusting. Any reason why this this unit is so much overpriced? I understand there is another unit that is even more overpriced. But thats no excuse.
Seems reasonable. If it’s not for YOU or your budget or taste, that’s a different issue. No one’s forcing you to buy it.
What makes this price "reasonable"?
@@rainerbroennimann1563 depends on the person, budget, taste, origin of manufacture, distribution or direct, quality of parts, tube type, etc. So much. While not inexpensive it doesn’t seem disgusting based.
I am curious; have you been able to do critical listening, or are you just being unpolite without a reason?
@@dc_codefactory I am into HiFi and diyaudio since 1972. Since parts are getting cheaper prices for gear made in US or Europe shoots up into the sky makes this Hobby out of reach for younger people. No, I did not listen to this unit as I think the price of a preamp should somehow be in relation to the cost of the parts used.
$6500 or Five Apple iMacs! Just ridiculous.
Then don’t buy it. Pretty simple.
@@fakeklg I'm not going to. I still have the right to have an opinion. I think you should buy it.
@@yippie6862 that was an opinion? Interesting.
That “opinion” came across as some cheapass troll commenting on things he doesn’t understand.
@@fakeklg Yes, 35+ years in this hobby but I don't understand it. You do know I'm not preventing you from buying whatever you want to, right?
@@yippie6862 35 years one day, might be 20 another, on a whim 45…and something about walking 15 miles to do some mundane thing that has long since been replaced by the new-fangled internet and the icing “back in my day things used to cost a handshake and basket of blueberries” 🥱
Thanks for the “opinion.” Real valuable insights shared.
Maybe if you're rich.. LOL!
$6500?? You must be joking?
Then don’t buy it. Pretty simple.
@@fakeklgHe won't and neither will I. Very simple.
@@perlman7376 applause
Thanks Fake!
@@nicklang9210applause 👏👏👏
A bit esoteric son.... I don't mind.