I couldn’t be happier with my (ss) preamp. It’s the most expensive component in my system and I’m not prepared to go without it. It’s the heart of the system.
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You should try the Sylvania Conn 12au7. They are really nice.
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Interesting that a preamp is considered almost a requirement for good 2 channel but not for headphones.
A headphone amp serves the same purpose.
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All the ones I’ve seen are just a simple pot in front of the amp section. Perhaps I haven’t see enough.
And I couldn’t be happier for you. It would be a truly boring world if all felt the same!
Back to the headphone conversation and the original posted question. I have a headphone amp without a DAC. When I run my DAC directly into the phone amp, the sound is very good, but when I run my DAC through my preamp and preamp to the headphone amp the sound is vastly improved over the DAC direct. I can’t test this with my speakers since I can only drive my M1200’s with the preamp, but there’s clearly a positive difference with the preamp in the headphone chain.
The BHK preamp has a fine HP. Bascom has put in some effort into HP designs too.
Mine did take a solid 500 hours with a load to fully bloom though…patience. Ironically I don’t use it all that often any more. I’m fortunate to be able to use my speakers any time of day or night.
I have gone back and forth, around the block several times on the preamp vs no preamp question. In my system, I’m back to no preamp. Allow me to explain.
Until the BHK preamp, I decidedly preferred the sound of no preamp in my system. When I inserted the BHK preamp a couple of years ago, it was the best sound I ever heard from my system to that point in time, and I reported such in the forums. I recently changed the interconnect between the DS DAC and the preamp to a Stealth Indra and was immediately impressed with an overall subtle improvement in the clarity and midrange quality of the sound. After enjoying that change for several weeks, I began to wonder, “What would my system sound like if I remove the preamp and connect the DAC directly to my Pass Labs xa100.5 monoblocks with the Indra?” When I did that, I found that without the preamp the dynamics, frequency range, tonal qualities and soundstage were virtually identical, but the resolution and holographic image seemed a smidgen better without the preamp. How could this be? Why did I prefer the preamp in my system before the interconnect change, but now I don’t miss the preamp at all?
Perhaps the answer lies in following system-specific factors: 1) the Pass Labs xa100.5s are high current Class A with plenty of headroom and have a “tube like” rendition; not needing a preamp to add gain, increase dynamics or provide the warmth of tubes; 2) the Stealth Indra interconnect that I changed to has much higher impedance than other interconnects (high impedance not typically being considered desirable in an interconnect, but in the case of the Indra, is part of its proprietary design formula); 3) my full range Von Schweikert speakers are exceedingly neutral and non-fatiguing, and 4) the tube I prefer in the BHK preamp is very transparent, neutral and highly resolving, minimizing any tonal coloring, rounding or fattening of the sound by the preamp, in effect making the preamp neutral and invisible in the audio chain.
Given these particular factors and my sound preferences, I can rationalize why I do not miss the preamp in my system. Through my tube selection my preamplifier was already voiced to disappear in the audio chain, and any benefit of the preamp in interfacing between the DAC and the amps was compensated for by the particular impedance and other unique conducting characteristics of the Indra cable.
I can understand why many, if not most, systems benefit from the preamp as an interface and buffer. They receive and modify signals from multiple selectable sources, their active circuitry can add gain, and with tube changes they can be flavored to taste. But not all systems need a preamp to sound their best. The only way to tell is to try one, or two, or three–including, by all means, the wonderful BHK Signature. By changing its tubes, you can modify its sound or make it audibly disappear completely. In my current system I found that the preamp is not necessary for the best sound.
Bottom line, whether or not a preamp improves sound quality is system dependent, no matter what the “experts” tell you. Try it both ways, and then decide what sounds the best to your ears.
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This^.
Cheers.
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Update : I have the BAT VK-50SE in my rig now and it sounds better driving my Orchard Audio/ICE Amps inside my KEF’s than when I ran things directly out of the DSSr. The DSSr. direct into an Amplifier (e.g, my previous M700’s or S300) sounds pretty Damn Good ! But adding the Preamp gave the Orchard Audio BOSC Amps the extra voltage required to drive the little boards due to their design.
What sounded Great, now sounds Greater ! I am of the converted 
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I suggest option 5) potentially old tubes. Since you are now back to “no” preamp, it sounds like the tubes are old and may have lost their magic.
looks like a very nice piece of kit 
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There is no need for an option 5). The tubes are perfect N.O.S. Siemens Halske E88CC identical to CCa with only about a hundred hours. They are wonderful, rare, expensive perfectly matched, hard to find super-low-micronics tubes that I chose specifically for their neutrality and clarity. They sound better than the Amperex 7316 and 7308. I love these tubes and have extra pairs. They make the preamp disappear in my system without imposing any coloration, which is my preference given the desirable sound qualities of my amps and loudspeakers. As I explained in my post, I preferred the sound of the preamp in my system before I switched my amp interconnects to Stealth Indra. With Indra I found that the system sounds virtually the same with or without the preamp; maybe a tad more holographic and resolved without the preamp. I love the sound, with or without the preamp. For whatever reasons, with the Indra, the preamp became optional in my system. The Indra adds a magic of its own.
I looked at Stealth Indra and now I get where you’re coming from. I have done just the opposite with tubes, using the brands that Conrad Johnson supplies when reordering new tubes, which are famous for that smooth, sweet wonderful midrange magic (admittedly their old classic entry level gear). And when that magic would disappear, I would order a new set of tubes 
Again, the magic did not disappear in my system. It sounds as magical as ever, with or without the wonderful BHK Signature preamp. The N.O.S. vintage tubes I mentioned to you are notoriously exceptional with excellent midrange and smooth, clear extended highs and lows. That’s why they are rare, expensive and sought out, increasingly hard to find. My Pass Lab xa.100.5 monoblocks have a tube like sound, and my Von Schweikert loudspeakers built and voiced by Albert von Schweikert himself have a warm, natural midrange, smooth treble and pure, tight bass down to 16Hz. Whereas a very sweet, midrangey tube might work well in your system, that kind of tube is not a good fit in my system. Tubes and preamps are system dependent. I don’t have any experience with Conrad Johnson supplied tubes but I have tried over a dozen brands of rare N.O.S. tubes in my gear, including many of those ranked highest in the tube rolling forums. I settled on the Siemens Halske early 60’s E88CC/CCa as the cream of the crop in terms of resolution and tonal accuracy. But they are not the best match for everyone’s system and tastes, particularly those with systems with equipment that has a clinical, sterile flavor.
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The price was right John. Traded in all my PSA Amps and got some extra on top through The Music Room in Colorado.
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I was just trying to let you know where my first comment came from. That’s all. I would LOVE to have von Schweikert speakers (driven by Pass Labs). Saw (not certain which model) and heard a pair of von Schweikert speakers at Axpona and really liked everything about them. For your highly resolving system, I understand where you’re coming from on the “no” preamp sounds better. And understand the quality level of cables feeding the system.
The classic CJ gear, before they started calling them “classic”, mated very well to the “too plain and too neutral” sounding Infinity Modulus speakers. The CJ tubes are also magical with the Sonist Audio Concerto 4 speakers with classical music, but seem not quite right with other music, with both the speakers and the pre/power being strong with the upper bass. The BHK Preamp and M700 monoblocks, being more neutral, seem to match perfectly with the Sonist speakers, and really bring those speakers to life.
I apologize. I now realize you totally got what I was saying about my system before my last reply, and you were explaining your reason for changing tubes in your system. It is a great testament to any preamp that can audibly disappear in a system or change the sound character of a system by merely changing a pair of input tubes. The BHK Pre is the best preamp I have ever owned for that reason. I’m keeping it on my equipment stand in case I want to connect additional analog source equipment.
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