Joey_V
Well-known member
Prologue:
Here it is, guys! The mystery preamp TRULY revealed!!
It was initially going to be a Hovland HP100 tube preamp (7 letters, $5K.... remember my hint from a month ago?). I went to my local dealer and had him hook up the Hovland HP100 -> Plinius SA102 -> ML Summits. I listened and I wasnt pleased with what I heard. The Hovland didnt do much in the way of making the music sound more palpable. I felt that the Hovland made the Summits sound extra airy, and not in a good way. I lost the vocal focus that I've been so focused (no pun intended) after... and I lost that sense of realism that accompany my recordings. I just didnt like it. It sounded a little too solid state for me, for lack of a better term.
I also tried out the top of the line Rogue 99, but it didnt last too long since I didnt find it to give the Summits the life they deserved. Focus was good, but there was something veiled about the presentation... sort of like wearing sunglasses and dimming the entire picture entirely. In addition to the not-so-spectacular sound, I also didnt get a good vibe from speaking with Rogue Audio's CEO Mark OBrien when I asked him about head-to-head comparisons between his preamps... his reply was that he never really did A/B comparisons. Not a good answer, I thought, especially when trying to decide between which world class tube preamp to get.
So I ditched the idea of getting the $2.5K Rogue 99 and I turned my attention towards a tube preamp that has been an object of many audiophiles' positive affection. I decided to buy used ($1,650) and go for the $4K Cary SLP-98!!
I love the look and it's certainly bigger than I thought judging by pictures. The current Stereophile Class A Cary SLP-98 is a formidable tube preamp with a set of 4 6SN7 tubes, P2P wiring with silver teflon, oversized caps, Alps potentiometer, and a separate linear regulated power supply!
The Sound:
Vocals - Compared to the Rogue Metis tube preamp ($1.1K retail) that I have had in the interim, the Cary 98 is miles ahead in fleshing out the extraneous air and grain in the vocal reproduction and leaving the listener with only the necessary realism that makes for an awesome vocal focus and superb vocal imaging. There is a better sense of 3Dimensionality when it comes to the vocalist in question (a sense of volumetric spacing where the vocalist is imaged), there is a better sense of range, and there is less audible strain whenever the vocalist climbs the registers. Truly, the Cary 98 is about 2 or 3 notches above what the Rogue Metis was capable of reproducing through the Summits.
Midrange - Everything in the midrange just sounds better... even more defined instrument spacing exists with the 98 vs the Metis and an even more palpable sense of realism characterizes the instruments in question. There is an even blacker background with the 98, and this helps with the delineation of where one instrument (or vocalist) ends and another begins. There is better range and less strain in the reproduced arts. The saxophone in "Pennies from Heaven" sounded a notch better with the 98, and this coming from an already stupendous sound reproduction that I was getting from the Summits through the Rogue Metis preamp.
Bass - The 98 has better defined bass... though the bass is already so very good that I suspect whatever has improved to be mainly in the midbass frequency region.
Overall - The Cary 98 has truly taken my system to another level, and perhaps even closer to the ideal sound that I have been striving for. There is a greater sense of realism and a greater sense of palpability in the instruments and vocalists being reproduced through the Summits. There is more of the appropriate air in the ambience reproduced. There is better imaging and soundstaging as a whole.... there is a blacker background, which makes for a better canvas on which the Summits are able to paint a better picture.
There is better everything!
Truly worldclass, there isnt much more I could want from a tube preamp! I'm glad I got the Cary SLP-98... it has pushed my Summit system even further than I thought possible. It is approaching towards being the best system I have heard, period.
Here it is, guys! The mystery preamp TRULY revealed!!
It was initially going to be a Hovland HP100 tube preamp (7 letters, $5K.... remember my hint from a month ago?). I went to my local dealer and had him hook up the Hovland HP100 -> Plinius SA102 -> ML Summits. I listened and I wasnt pleased with what I heard. The Hovland didnt do much in the way of making the music sound more palpable. I felt that the Hovland made the Summits sound extra airy, and not in a good way. I lost the vocal focus that I've been so focused (no pun intended) after... and I lost that sense of realism that accompany my recordings. I just didnt like it. It sounded a little too solid state for me, for lack of a better term.
I also tried out the top of the line Rogue 99, but it didnt last too long since I didnt find it to give the Summits the life they deserved. Focus was good, but there was something veiled about the presentation... sort of like wearing sunglasses and dimming the entire picture entirely. In addition to the not-so-spectacular sound, I also didnt get a good vibe from speaking with Rogue Audio's CEO Mark OBrien when I asked him about head-to-head comparisons between his preamps... his reply was that he never really did A/B comparisons. Not a good answer, I thought, especially when trying to decide between which world class tube preamp to get.
So I ditched the idea of getting the $2.5K Rogue 99 and I turned my attention towards a tube preamp that has been an object of many audiophiles' positive affection. I decided to buy used ($1,650) and go for the $4K Cary SLP-98!!
I love the look and it's certainly bigger than I thought judging by pictures. The current Stereophile Class A Cary SLP-98 is a formidable tube preamp with a set of 4 6SN7 tubes, P2P wiring with silver teflon, oversized caps, Alps potentiometer, and a separate linear regulated power supply!
The Sound:
Vocals - Compared to the Rogue Metis tube preamp ($1.1K retail) that I have had in the interim, the Cary 98 is miles ahead in fleshing out the extraneous air and grain in the vocal reproduction and leaving the listener with only the necessary realism that makes for an awesome vocal focus and superb vocal imaging. There is a better sense of 3Dimensionality when it comes to the vocalist in question (a sense of volumetric spacing where the vocalist is imaged), there is a better sense of range, and there is less audible strain whenever the vocalist climbs the registers. Truly, the Cary 98 is about 2 or 3 notches above what the Rogue Metis was capable of reproducing through the Summits.
Midrange - Everything in the midrange just sounds better... even more defined instrument spacing exists with the 98 vs the Metis and an even more palpable sense of realism characterizes the instruments in question. There is an even blacker background with the 98, and this helps with the delineation of where one instrument (or vocalist) ends and another begins. There is better range and less strain in the reproduced arts. The saxophone in "Pennies from Heaven" sounded a notch better with the 98, and this coming from an already stupendous sound reproduction that I was getting from the Summits through the Rogue Metis preamp.
Bass - The 98 has better defined bass... though the bass is already so very good that I suspect whatever has improved to be mainly in the midbass frequency region.
Overall - The Cary 98 has truly taken my system to another level, and perhaps even closer to the ideal sound that I have been striving for. There is a greater sense of realism and a greater sense of palpability in the instruments and vocalists being reproduced through the Summits. There is more of the appropriate air in the ambience reproduced. There is better imaging and soundstaging as a whole.... there is a blacker background, which makes for a better canvas on which the Summits are able to paint a better picture.
There is better everything!
Truly worldclass, there isnt much more I could want from a tube preamp! I'm glad I got the Cary SLP-98... it has pushed my Summit system even further than I thought possible. It is approaching towards being the best system I have heard, period.
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