Vacuum Tubes in the 21st Century

After twelve or more years with basically the same stereo system, I finally decided to make some upgrades. My amplifier was getting a little bit noisy in the right channel, so when I found a newer model from the same manufacturer (PSE in Minnesota) available at a good used price, I picked it up. As things seem to happen, this purchase lead to a chain of events. The newer amp had a protection circuit that was more particular than that of the old amp, and it didn't like the signal coming from my old preamp, also a PSE. Apparently, there was some DC offset coming through. My ipod could hook up directly to the amp no problem, but to use the preamp (and thus, listen to radio, records, and cd's), I needed to repair it or replace it. The local audio shop didn't want to look at my preamp without a schematic, and suggested I send it back to the manufacturer. I've heard my guy back in Minnesota is pretty busy building a new house, and I didn't want to be without a preamp for a long time, so I started looking for a replacement.

The best audio circuits are the simplest. With fewer parts, there are fewer things to mess up the signal. The ancient and lowly vacuum tube is actually a very simple and good-sounding amplification device. I'd tried tube preamps before (Conrad Johnson PV7, Lazarus), but had not yet found one I was satisfied with. I had heard, though, that Audible Illusions made a preamp that worked excellently with my chosen amp.

It is a simple circuit... Russian 6922 vacuum tubes... two in the phono sections (to play records), and two in the line-stage section. I bought this unit from a fellow in California. This thing is built like a tank. External power supply to keep vibrations away from sensitive audio circuits. Sounds gorgeous... smooth, open, detailed.

I dug through my music collection... Mehta's 1970 Turandot, Frank Black, Peter Gabriel's Passion Soundtrack, Cat Power, David Sylvian.

http://www.audibleillusions.com/