I’ll second the Holo Serene, been curious about it and would like to see how it stacks up to some of the others on this list if you’re willing to give it a try.
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This looks interesting too @M0N …
For something in the “lower-end”…
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On the ARC really any of the reference line stages line would be perfect. I just mentioned the 6 because that is what seems to come up more often but if you have access to the 10 that would be pretty sweet.
I know an ARC dealer so I can get things on loan pretty easily compared to other stuff so that’s one of the more feasible things I can go for. I could also consider a LS28SE as well. In terms of shipping I might be more inclined to go with a 6se for testing rather than a ref 10 just for size reasons but I should probably check if there’s like a massive jump between a ref 10 and 6se first to see
Interestingly I was hearing hype about their monoblocks for use with a horizon preamp, I’ll have to look into their dedicated pres
Looks interesting
Would probably be a nice inclusion
I’d probably want to pass on the bricasti simply because from my experience their preamps (at least within their dacs) seem to only really shine with their amps, but really mainly because I’ve already had an m21 and tested it as a preamp already semi recently
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Benchmark LA4 would be interesting too for a more affordable option.
We’ll see if I can get over my distaste of benchmark gear for that one lol
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Haha, I almost didn’t post that because I assumed it wouldn’t be a popular choice. I’ve been looking at getting a solid state preamp myself so that’s why I mentioned it.
Did you need balanced? I think the Pass HPA-1 is supposed to be an excellent SE preamp (not to mentions a solid headphones amp).
yes, I want a fully balanced solid state preamp that runs cool. Something to use in warmer months when I don’t want to turn on the LTA. I have a freya+ but that’s not on the same level as the LTA. Serene is an option too but that’s supposed to run quite warm
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your LTA runs warm? my Z10e is quite cool all the time
Ah, gotcha.
A bit. It’s mostly the top cover that gets warm, the rest of the chassis feels pretty cool. I also rolled tubes that stick out more so that might be creating more heat.
oh I don’t have any protruding tubes so that might make a difference… I think my class A solid state will be warmer lol
I’m super interested to read about an ARC option and see how it compares.
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So with further thought, I probably jumped the gun on this, and probably will have to put it off for the foreseeable future. Sorry for making this post and then essentially pulling “just kidding” lol. But it’s something I’d like to do eventually
It just doesn’t really make sense for me to do for a few reasons right now:
1 being financially since I have been putting money toward my own setups trying to finalize them and dial things in so I don’t really have much spare cash right now to throw at something like this, it adds up fast
2 because while I’m interested in revisiting this, in my current setup it wouldn’t really benefit me all that much since I already basically have the preamps I want to live with for the most part, and aren’t really looking to change anything there anytime soon so it’s really only for past curiosity than anything else
and 3 I don’t think I would really be able to do the traditional shootout aspect because I don’t think I could get some of the loaner options to really align time wise, so I’d more have to do it as trying everything overtime and compiling my thoughts in a more brief and less detailed way, which I don’t know if it would really be all that valuable in the end, and wouldn’t really count as a shootout anymore. I could just buy everything myself and make it work, but I don’t really want to do that for something I’m not 100% interested in and something that won’t really benefit my setup in the end, so I’d want to rely on the loaners I could potentially get
Sorry about the post since I was intending on started on it, but I’m just not really in both the position and sorta mood to actually follow through even if I wanted to after actually thinking about the idea lol
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No problem but appreciate the update. I still intend on picking up a LA4 or serene and comparing to my LTA pre so I think the thread should stay open and I can post thoughts about that whenever that happens
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Oh yeah I don’t plan to close it or anything, will be curious on your comparisons 
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So I ended up selling the LTA to pay off the rest of the balance on the x9000 I have on order. But I did get a chance to briefly compare the LTA mirozotl level 2, holo serene kte, and the schiit freya+. I would rank them in sound quality as LTA > Holo >= Freya. The Freya was tested in active solid sate mode (compound differential buffer). And the LTA had rolled tubes, Tung Sold 6SN7 GTB and Phillips Heerlen 7062.
Basically the LTA in comparison to the serene added some tonal density and increased the size of the stage in all directions. One issue here is that it was the addition of the Philips tubes in place of the stock 12AT7 that really elevated the sound for me especially with regards to the sound stage. With the stock tubes, you got most of the same density of sound especially with vocals but the bass at times was lacking and the soundstage was less grand sounding. The Phillips tubes introduced some microphonics which I didn’t get around to fixing before selling but I was thinking about some iso acoustics feet for the rack or getting some dampeners for the tubes. So when I had the LTA I was stuck between using the stock tubes for usability at the expense of some sound quality or using the rolled tubes but having occasional issues with noise and microphonics.
The lack of noisefloor on the serene was sometimes shocking in comparison to the LTA. It’s not that there’s a lot of noise coming from the LTA, I actually think the tube mode on the Freya is noisier, but the change from a tube pre to a solid state pre was a welcome change and a much simpler experience for me. The serene lost a bit of stage size, mostly in terms of depth, and a bit of the tonal density. But it wasn’t a huge difference and the ease of use with the serene made up for the slight decrease in sound quality. Due to the lack of noisefloor, detail on the serene is more apparent.
The serene and Freya are quite close actually. But I found the serene to stage a bit larger and let through more detail. It’s mostly a usability difference between the serene and the freya that has me preferring the serene overall.
For usability of the preamps I would rank it as serene >> LTA >= freya. At this point in my audio journey I find myself valuing more simple designs, easy to use components, and comfort when it comes to headphones. Each of these preamps have a stepped relay attenuated volume control and that seems to be a source of a problem when used with tubes. With the LTA and Freya each click of the volume would create a bit of ringing in the tubes that you can hear through the headphones / speaker. It’s not a big deal but it does get worse when rolling tubes that are a bit mircophonic. So I’m not a big fan of this sort of volume control and might go for a different volume implementation if I were to get a tube preamp in the future. Apart from that issue I found the LTA chassis to be slightly more prone to microphonics then the Freya but the buttons and controls on the LTA were nicer to use. The Freya has the added bonus of being able to use it in solid state or tube mode. With the serene I really have no complaints. The volume control works great without creating any pops or clicks in the headphone and the mechanical noise from the relays themselves are the quietest of the 3 preamps. The only thing I don’t really like about the serene is that the buttons feel a bit loose on the preamp and the remote.
So I’ll be keeping the serene for now and using it with the Tyrs, F8, and maybe the T2 once that shows up. It’s not the best sounding preamp I’ve heard but the ease of use and lack of noisefloor make it a pleasure to use and listen too.
MC1, Serene, and Freya with LISST tubes:
MC1, Serene, and LTA:
LTA in it’s new and much nicer home:
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wow not sure if the Freya is punching above it’s weight or the Serene is just not at the hype for Sound Quality. That is darn high praise for the freya+ so awesome to see that.
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