Cheap pre to replace Canary 601

[uncl_nigel]

A retired friend of mine has a system made up of (mostly my) cast-offs:
Samsung BLURAY player
Canary 601 pre
Avondale stereo amp (with inputs on phono sockets)
Akai speakers (salvaged from a defunct all-in-one)
cêeapo interconnects

When visiting this weekend with some fresh tubes, the Canary went belly-up - first problem was intermittent music related noise on both channels (a bit like a kid playing at machine gun noises, so I switched the valves); then things got worse - the on-light would go out and the sound fade to nothing. The Canary is not exactly young and was never properly distributed here so we're thinking more along the lines of a cheap replacement.

Passive would be nice - nothing to go wrong in a rural area where hifi repair is at least 100km away.

The NEED:
3 inputs, 1 output all single-ended phonos
input switching
volume control

Bidget: cheap as chips

 

[Arkless Electronics]

It should be relatively straightforward to repair...

 

[uncl_nigel]

It should be relatively straightforward to repair...

I think you're right but this is remote rural Auvergne with repair facilities rather distant either Vichy or Lyon, both over 2 hours one way in a car.

Besides the transformer in the beast makes one unholy racket whether bolted hard down or loosely attached to the chassis. The transformer in the Avondale is on the other hand very well behaved when it comes to mechanical noise.

 

[leevinyl]

A Creek OBH-22 will do everything you ask. I have one, it’s pretty transparent and has a wider soundstage than other pre’s I have owned.

 

[TimF]

It would be a shame to not be able to fix it, as it is a decent preamp and fairly simple, but I get it being far away from repair facilities. Canary gear isn't all that popular over here in the US where it is built for goodness sakes.

 

[uncl_nigel]

A Creek OBH-22 will do everything you ask. I have one, it’s pretty transparent and has a wider soundstage than other pre’s I have owned.

Are they still in production?

The room is small enough to make a remote control unnecessary.

What about the Tisbury Mini?

 

[leevinyl]

Sorry, it doesn’t seem so although often appear on the used market.

The Creek has a good remote which is what drew me to it. I haven’t heard any other passive pre’s.