The OBH-22 is a high quality passive preamp with remote control switching, muting and volume control. It has 3 inputs (one of which is a tape loop) and is housed in a very compact enclosure, the power supply for the switching is housed in a separate plug top box, keeping noise away from the signal path. This is an ideal starter pre amp offering a transparent sound like all good passive pre amplifiers (due to the passive nature of this design we recommend keeping interconnects short for best performance).

The Rega Cursa pre amplifiers are excellent value for money. They are available in three versions: a Line level only model for £748, with MM phono stage for £798 or with a Moving Coil stage, also for £798.
All are available in either Silver or Black finish, and can be controlled with the Rega Solar remote control.


The Audion Premier is available in both line level and phono equipped versions. The line level only model uses a pair of 6922 valves and costs £1,199 and the MM phono equipped version (pictured above) costs £1,799. They are also available with an optional remote control for £280 extra if required.

Verdier, famous for their superb turntables also produce a range of tube amplifiers.
This wonderful valve pre is available in two versions, both of which have (identical) very high quality phono stages, which by use of internal links allow adjustment for use with either MM or MC cartridges (via high quality internal step up transformers).
The difference between the two models is in the line stage, on the cheaper model (costing £1,300) this is passive and on the dearer version (£1,600) it is active. We recommend the active version as all conventional passive pre’s have a tendency to lack ultimate dynamic expression and are also very choosey about the type and length of the interconnect cables used.
Both versions use external power supplies to ensure low noise, and can be upgraded with a regulated valve power supply (pictured below) for an extra £1,430.

We’d been eagerly waiting for the launch of the Music First Audio passive magnetic (or TVC, short for transformer volume control) pre amplifier ever since we learnt of its inception late in 2001.
The reason we were so excited about this pre is that it offers the benefits of passive pre amps without many of their flaws - conventional passive pre amps tend to squash dynamics and roll off treble, especially when long interconnects are used.

Unlike conventional pre amplifiers which use potentiometers for attenuation the Music First Audio preamplifier uses a transformer instead, which has the benefit of isolating and impedance matching sources and power amplifiers as well as breaking ground loop and reducing noise.

The volume control is basically a high grade Elma 20 position switch which connects different transformer windings via hard wired, silver plated Teflon covered wire. It features 6 inputs, two of which are balanced XLR connectors and the other four are standard phono RCA connectors. Output is via single ended or balanced and there is also the facility to add 6 dB of gain and lift the ground to reduce noise.

The transformers have a wide and flat Frequency Response of 10 Hz - 300kHz within a tolerance of + or - 0.5dB.

So far we have pitted this against a variety of active pre amplifiers that cost several times as much and it has always shown up colourations in the alternatives, whether it be glare from a transistor pre or euphonic bloom from some valve designs. We think this is an absolute bargain bringing unheard levels of transparency to almost every system.
It is available with a choice of either silver or gold coloured control knobs.

From the front the Silver version looks the same as the copper one shown above, but internally the transformers (and all associated wiring) use pure silver wire instead of copper and the phono connectors are also silver plated.
This brings an extra level of finesse to the sound, giving greater transparency and even more depth to the sound stage. Those who have compared the sound of good copper and good silver cables will know exactly what I’m trying to describe!
We particularly recommend it for no compromise systems, especially those that use silver wiring throughout, where the benefits are revealed to the fullest.

The M3 uses a choke smoother valve rectified power supply and 5687 valves driving HiB double C-core copper output transformers. It produces an effortless sound with a wonderfully deep and spacious sound stage. It costs £5,040 for the line level only version or £6,300 with superb MM phono stage.
Available with silver or black acrylic fascia.

The TVC mk II features refinements over the classic models (featured above) thanks to lessons learnt during the development of their top of the range Reference pre amplifier (see below). The mkII has copper wound transformers with 25% larger cores than the Classic models which provide superior low frequency performance and improved headroom. Remote control volume is also catered for, and in keeping with Music First Audio’s no compromise policy this is done using a stepper motor which is expensive but does not compromise performance at all. Two Phono and two XLR mains outputs are also provided making bi amping possible.

I don’t know of any hifi product that is built with quite as much care as the Tron range. Not only are their amplifiers exquisitely finished on the outside, but when you take the lid off you see that the insides are just as beautiful, with internal compartments separating the audio stages and power supply.
Prices start from £6,000 for the phono equipped model (available in either MM or MC guise), however as each one is built to a customers specification the price will vary depending on the options chosen. These include copper or pure Silver wire, and a choice of different grades of connectors (for example the WBT Nextgen sockets can be specified, as seen in the picture below).


Finding a way to better the Music First Audio TVC’s (as detailed above) was never going to be easy - it’s been our reference for several years. So when the new flagship was announced, the Reference, we were a little skeptical as to how much of an improvement they could make.

Let’s deal with the boring bits first - perhaps the greatest criticism leveled at the Music First Audio pre amps have been a direct result of their purist design. The cases whilst being made from aluminium for the best sound quality aren’t especially chunky or obviously styled, they have always been simple but plain, with function over form. The fact that they lack remote control has also caused an issue for some people.

So with the Reference you get a much more luxurious appearance with a wider range of facilities. The case is naturally still aluminium, but is more attractively styled. Hidden inside there has also been greater attention paid the way the components are mounted. The transformers, named the “Nickel Bricks”, have a 25% bigger core than the other models, with refined winding geometry and improved shielding. The +6dB switch has also now been integrated into the main volume control (instead of a switch on the rear), seamlessly working when you need a large amount of gain in an insensitive system. There are also now dual single ended and balanced outputs, perfect for biamped setups. To top it all off it has a remote control and even two tape outputs (with their own separate isolating transformers).

Now to the important and interesting bit, the sound! The first thing you notice is the way it resolves even more information, particularly at the frequency extremes. Starting with the treble, the leading edges are better defined and there’s even more information, yet there’s no hint of brightness, the best description is that it reproduces a very accurate rendition of the energy that you hear when listening to live music, the bite and brilliance is there without it sounding in anyway false or hyped.

The mid band shows greater refinement, almost sounding overly smooth until you realise that the hint of grit and graininess you’re used to is not actually on the recording. The bass is also crisper and able to plumb deeper depths with greater authority yet remains completely effortless throughout.

As you can probably guess we’re very impressed with this preamp, we feel it has redefined what is possible. The price is unapologetically well into high end territory - it has to be as it’s enormously labour intensive to build, with each one taking two weeks just to assemble, but we’ve not come across nothing else, even from much more expensive designs that we’d rather own. MFA have moved the benchmark again...

Please note that the photographs here are of a pre production unit which does not reflect the cosmetic fit and finish of production models, but we wanted to bring you photographs of it as soon as we could.

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