Hi Hiwatt,
In case you're interested, I have a brand new unassembled Bottlehead Foreplay preamp kit (v2) complete with the unfinished alder wood base kit that's sitting in storage.
Shortly after I purchased this kit, I bought an pre-assembled Foreplay off of Ebay (didn't have time to start the kit). This one was built into a metal project box.
I used this preamp with my 47 Labs Gaincard, so it's similar to the setup you'd be using.
I have to say, the Foreplay is a great preamp for chipamps. I got some real enjoyment from the pair. The Foreplay added life, warmth, and dimensionality to the clear, clean, and just slightly clinical sound of the chipamp by itself. It was really nice to listen to.
I played with some coupling caps in the Foreplay, and while I didn't try every cap that I own in it, I did settle for Auricaps, which I found to be more musical than the same value Hovland Musicaps.
Incidentally, the sound of the Foreplay is very similar, though not quite as refined, as the tweaked Cary SLP-94 that I'm using as my preamp right now. Of course, the Foreplay kit at the time I bought it cost about 1/10 of what I paid for the Cary, which I bought used.
The Foreplay with the CSS modules and Auricaps gets about 85% of my tweaked Cary's sound, in my estimation. Truly a great value.
Feel free to PM me if you're interested. It may be a good way to add a very capable tube pre to your system without spending too much.
Best,
KT
In case you're interested, I have a brand new unassembled Bottlehead Foreplay preamp kit (v2) complete with the unfinished alder wood base kit that's sitting in storage.
Shortly after I purchased this kit, I bought an pre-assembled Foreplay off of Ebay (didn't have time to start the kit). This one was built into a metal project box.
I used this preamp with my 47 Labs Gaincard, so it's similar to the setup you'd be using.
I have to say, the Foreplay is a great preamp for chipamps. I got some real enjoyment from the pair. The Foreplay added life, warmth, and dimensionality to the clear, clean, and just slightly clinical sound of the chipamp by itself. It was really nice to listen to.
I played with some coupling caps in the Foreplay, and while I didn't try every cap that I own in it, I did settle for Auricaps, which I found to be more musical than the same value Hovland Musicaps.
Incidentally, the sound of the Foreplay is very similar, though not quite as refined, as the tweaked Cary SLP-94 that I'm using as my preamp right now. Of course, the Foreplay kit at the time I bought it cost about 1/10 of what I paid for the Cary, which I bought used.
The Foreplay with the CSS modules and Auricaps gets about 85% of my tweaked Cary's sound, in my estimation. Truly a great value.
Feel free to PM me if you're interested. It may be a good way to add a very capable tube pre to your system without spending too much.
Best,
KT
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