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Preamp suggestions [message #74125]

Sun, 14 October 2012 11:23

Shane
Messages: 1117
Registered: May 2009

Illuminati (3rd Degree)

Hopefully I'll have a little money to invest in a preamp this fall after our financial audit at work gets done = bonus.

I've been looking at several different kits and was wondering your opinions on them.

First up is the Hagerman Clarinet. I actually bought the high dollar film caps and resistors to build this then Jim ran out of boards over a year ago. He has recently reordered boards so it's back on my radar. I would most likely build my own chassis for this pre as I think spending upwards of $150 on the chassis is ludicris. I've never read a bad review on the Clarinet.

Here's a link to the Clarinet for your reference:
http://www.hagtech.com/clarinet.html

Next up is the OddWatt Forewatt preamp. I've heard the Forewatt and remember it sounding nice in the Oddwatt system. Bruce is a great guy so I'm sure build support would be there in spades. A bonus is that I don't have to build a chassis for it.

Here's the link to the Forewatt:
http://oddwattaudio.com/owforewatt.html

My last choice is the Audiotropic Moebius. This has been on my radar for many years now and I remember hearing one at the GPAF and was quite impressed. It's a simple topology and Eric has been very helpful in answering my questions and giving advice in the past. The chassis is straightforward and unique as well.

Here are the links to the Moebius:
http://www.audiotropic.net/Products/mobius.html
http://www.audiotropic.net/Projects/Mobius/mobiusProj.html

All in all I think that these three kits should be comparable in build price, with the Clarinet being a tad more than the other two.

Any pros or cons you can think to share would be helpful.

As a side note, this will be getting used with my Darling 1626 amp, Bottlehead Seduction, a couple of SS receivers, and my ST-35 if I ever get that finished.

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Re: Preamp suggestions [message #74163 is a reply to message #74125]

Wed, 17 October 2012 20:28

gofar99
Messages: 1950
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

Hi, Thanks for the kind thoughts toward the Forewatt, if you decide to build one from scratch, please ask me (PM OK) for any later updates. There are a few from the original project.

Good Listening
Bruce

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Re: Preamp suggestions [message #74179 is a reply to message #74125]

Fri, 19 October 2012 22:17

SteveBrown
Messages: 330
Registered: May 2009

Grand Master

How about a scratch build? Or must it be a kit? My current favorite is my triode wired 12V6 preamp. Easy to build and sounds great! I use a conventional 6.3v winding and voltage doubler to get 12v for the 12V6's. That means that you can find excellent NOS varieties for next to nothing.

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Re: Preamp suggestions [message #74181 is a reply to message #74179]

Fri, 19 October 2012 22:37

Shane
Messages: 1117
Registered: May 2009

Illuminati (3rd Degree)

SteveBrown wrote on Fri, 19 October 2012 22:17

Thanks Steve. The Moebius would be a scratch p2p build. It's a simple circuit and if you build the chassis like Eric it looks very nice as well. The only thing that maybe might put me off is the fact that it inverts phase due to the circuit. No big deal really as songs on the same Cd or vinyl can have different phases.

I've got most of the parts to build Richard Gray's preamp he had a LSAF the last time he attended. It's a single 12AU7 modified off of a Bottlehead foreplay circuit with a chip from one of the old Cd players in it I think. Looked like junk, but sounded very, very good. Everyone talks down on the 12AU7, but there sure were a lot of people listening to that pre commenting on how good the sound was and didn't even realize it was goingin through that unit. It's only downside is you have to have a mute switch when turning on when hooked to a SS amp or it will fry the transistors.

http://www.rollinghillsimagery.com/Electronics/LSAF-2008/i-JLgR7rv/0/L/DSC1370-L.jpg

I'm most likely going to build one of Wayne's passive RDAC units and give it a try first before I decide if I need something active for sure. I'll keep the 12V6's in mind and would love to see a schematic and pics of yours if possible.

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