Any SS preamp that sound like ref40?

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by Frank750

I have owned a Ref40, Ref 10, Pass XP30 and have had the Xs for a couple of months. All excellent preamps and I could live with any one of them and be very happy. The Xs is the best of them but not by a wide margin and that is obviously one man's opinion. Ref 10 is very similar and very close in performance.

Hi Frank,

Great to hear from you. I went for it last week and purchased the XP-30. Still breaking in but I am already loving it. And it definitely did augment the bass response of the XA-100.5 as you said it would.

The last time we talked you were running the ARC Ref 10 with the XS-300. What made you change your mind and go for the XS Pre?

Best,
Ken

[TOGA]

Nice info. Thanks everyone.
@CG , that First Sound pre amp sounds impressive indeed. I will take a closer look, although it doesn't fit my application.
I need remote control, I need XLR inputs and also Home Theater bypass mode.

Pass Xs, Ayre KX-R20 sound interesting. But ok, I should stick with Ref40, I don't want to lose from selling anymore.
Toga

[analog brother]

stick with ref40! it's one of the best.
valve pre with ss power is definitely the way to go, imo.
valve maintenance on pre's is not a major issue.

[BillK]

Depends on your system and your usage.

My system is on 24x7x365, at which rate I'd be swapping preamp tubes every seven months or so, which is why I stayed in the SS camp.

However, I do have a Ref 2 SE phono stage, so tubes have their place in my system.

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by jazzhead

Dartzeel NHB-18NS .... darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier | Stereophile.com

JA doesn't really have good things to say in the "measurement" section...

[Frank750]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Hi Frank,

Great to hear from you. I went for it last week and purchased the XP-30. Still breaking in but I am already loving it. And it definitely did augment the bass response of the XA-100.5 as you said it would.

The last time we talked you were running the ARC Ref 10 with the XS-300. What made you change your mind and go for the XS Pre?

Best,
Ken

Hi Ken,

Glad you are enjoying the XP30!

I went to the Xs preamp and away from the Ref 10 simply because I don't want to deal with tubes any longer. I'm very happy with the Xs preamp and plan to try the Xs Phono when it comes out later this year.

[TOGA]

So the Xs is not sterile like many SS pre? And have some good quality of tubes pre?
That sound interesting.

Actually, tubes in ARC have never caused me any reliable issue, but at time of replacing, the options are
Too many, and without true knowledge and info. I am not confident to buy other than to order direct from ARC
Where they just send a matched set. That's the easiest way.
Toga

I don't know how much I use my preamp exactly, but My Ref40 was the very first unit and it reaches 4600-4800 hours now.
May be 1500 hours a year. This is my first 6H30 replacement in 3 years. And second set of 6550.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by Frank750

Hi Ken,

Glad you are enjoying the XP30!

I went to the Xs preamp and away from the Ref 10 simply because I don't want to deal with tubes any longer. I'm very happy with the Xs preamp and plan to try the Xs Phono when it comes out later this year.

Thanks Frank. And congrats on your XS Pre! You have very carefully put together a world-class system. It must sound incredible.

I also removed a tube preamp from my system last year and like the fact that I no longer have to deal with them. An additional bonus is that I can now close the doors on my Salamander cabinet and not have to worry about anything overheating. My wife loves it when the doors are closed...LOL.

All the best,
Ken

[BillK]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

I also removed a tube preamp from my system last year and like the fact that I no longer have to deal with them. An additional bonus is that I can now close the doors on my Salamander cabinet and not have to worry about anything overheating. My wife loves it when the doors are closed...LOL.

Be careful on that point; many SS preamps (notably the KX-5 and KX-R 20 from Ayre) emit a significant amount of heat; not quite at tube levels but more than a number of amplifiers do.

I suspect the same would be true for preamps that operate with a Class A bias.

[TOGA]

Back in 2007 I owned Mark Levinson no.320s and then 326S at $10,000, I couldn't imagined that today the top pre amp
Would cost $30,000-40,000$ . With big lost from selling Ref40, much $$$ must be added to buy latest top SS preamp.
It is wise to keep Ref40 and maintain it in top condition with fresh tubes.

Toga