DHT (directly heated triode) preamps - who makes them?

Paul said:
Allnic Joe.
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What model is that Paul?
 
My LIO friend tried the DHT upgrade and returned back to the normal AVC tube output stage. YMMV.

The Manley DHT preamp has been in production for 20 years or so?
 
Thank you Keith. I’m a little confused at this point. I want to try and borrow something before I commit. I’ll start to narrow down a few and post for everyone’s thoughts. Maybe it doesn’t necessarily have to be DHT but I’m seeing a trend where people are going out of their way to get DHT preamps.
 
I have the coincident on home demo at the moment. it's stunning but not the quietest pre out there. I heard the Mayer today and was very impressed.
 
Thank you.

I NEED quiet. Hmmm. Very interesting.
 
Joe, have you considered a custom Don Sachs tube preamp? You can have one built with Deulund or Jupiter caps and Khozmo stepped attenuater. His preamps are supposed to be awesome.
 
Mechnutt said:
Joe, have you considered a custom Don Sachs tube preamp? You can have one built with Deulund or Jupiter caps and Khozmo stepped attenuater. His preamps are supposed to be awesome.
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I have, many times. Don makes great gear, according to his customers.

I am also thinking again about Keith Herron's 360 preamp. Low/high gain switch with tube biasing. I respect Keith's gear as well.
 
I know this thread is a couple weeks old, but wanted to know what you think. I believe that my Dennis Had Dragon Inspire might qualify here. The one I have has the pre-amp outs on it. It is suppose to be a fantastic very back to basic pre-amp. It certainly is an amazing headphone amp.

At some point I am thinking about running it out to the McIntosh to see. It would be a basic configuration; no sub, no bi-amping.

Thoughts?
 
Could be awesome Randy. I’m using my Linear Tube Audio MZ2 as a preamp these days and I have to say that I am more than happy with its performance.

Now I’m considering the upgraded LTA model, even though it’s not a DHT preamp. I have a short list of about 5 preamps that I’m thinking about and interested in trying/buying. Maybe one or two are DHT.

Ps, I love Dennis Had gear and am sure what you have is great.
 
Thanks Joe... so what is your short list :).....

I am seriously thinking about trying it... Just wish it had more than one output (to be able to use the subwoofer also). Even though it is SE I am not too worried about that even though my two best interconnects are XLR.

Also, the bi-amping is working very well with the ARC. I love having three outputs for both amps and the sub, but curious about how the Had would work as a pre... I know it is DHT and it works superbly as my headphone amp.

I actually did try the DAC direct to amps at one point and like the sound better going through the pre-amp... but always thinking about different configurations to try...

One of the things that I love about the Dennis Had Dragon is that they are hand built and he literally signs each one on the bottom, with the production date! Here is from their website:

"Each amplifier is hand-built with point to point wiring by Dennis Had himself. Each amplifier is hand signed by him on the bottom plate. Dennis considers this his form of art. Each amp is like a newly sculpted masterpiece.He personally listens to each amplifier, both in the shop listening room and his home listening room, before it is shipped out."
 
So I decided to try the Dennis Had as a preamplifier. So no bi-amping, no subwoofer, SE cables only. My best cables are XLR :(. For now I hooked it using only the classic McIntosh amp.

Well, it took about 20-30 minutes for the Had to warm up... then... oh my....so musical. I am so impressed that I pulled the ARC, subwoofer and all the assortment of cables out and am just running a much more basic setup. But dam, the system has never sound so inviting, musical. Not as powerful, maybe not as dynamic, certainly not as bone rattling bass... but oh so open, natural, just plain musical. Imaging is out of this world.

So now I got to decide moving forward. Maybe selling off a few items, selling/trading cables, etc. We will see, but after a couple hours I am thoroughly impressed.
 
That’s what it’s all about. The simpler setup to me, and the way you describe it, is what I look for in my system. You could possibly ask Dennis to add an extra pair of outputs for the subs.
 
I have tried back and forth with the ARC pre-amp, subwoofer, bi-amping and better XLR cables, versus the basic setup using the Dennis Had unit as the DHT pre-amp and the classic McIntosh amplifier.

I also talked at length with my friend who runs our local audio club. His point of view was that a DHT unit might be a bit less flexible with various types of music and knowing I do listen to classic rock also at times... his other point was that I can switch whenever my mood wants.

I just put the Had unit back as the controller and really do love the sound. I do also see his point because more acoustic music and vocals do definitely shine, while rock music may not have the full punch. My view is that the most important serious listening definitely shines with the DHT.

Been thinking about maybe looking into SET amps and going full bore musically inclined emphasis... I guess it is nice having the option :).
 
As an update, I bought the Mayer and dropped it into my system on Sunday, replacing the Coincident. In short, it is stunning. Whisper quiet, great soundstaging, detail, transparency, natural timbre. To date, the best pre I've heard in my system has been the CH Precision L1 and my sense is that the Mayer is as good if not better, certainly in some areas. I get the L1 back next month, along with the X1 power supply so I'll know for sure!
 
heihei said:
As an update, I bought the Mayer and dropped it into my system on Sunday, replacing the Coincident. In short, it is stunning. Whisper quiet, great soundstaging, detail, transparency, natural timbre. To date, the best pre I've heard in my system has been the CH Precision L1 and my sense is that the Mayer is as good if not better, certainly in some areas. I get the L1 back next month, along with the X1 power supply so I'll know for sure!
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Those are phenomenal devices. Congrats on the purchase!
 
heihei said:
As an update, I bought the Mayer and dropped it into my system on Sunday, replacing the Coincident. In short, it is stunning. Whisper quiet, great soundstaging, detail, transparency, natural timbre. To date, the best pre I've heard in my system has been the CH Precision L1 and my sense is that the Mayer is as good if not better, certainly in some areas. I get the L1 back next month, along with the X1 power supply so I'll know for sure!
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Any update on the comparison between these two?
 
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