Considering a Valve/Tube buffer instead of pre?

[beammeup]

After listening to other systems, I seems real evident to me that valve preamps make digital music really expressive with lot of lovely acoustic space - I've been very impressed.

However I already have a decent preamp in the form of a Music First Copper - I like the features on it and I like the volume control. But can I compliment this with a valve/tube buffer in order to get that open, intimate and spacious sound that a valve preamp seems to portray? Obviously I don't need the impendance matching capabilities of the buffer because the MF does that already - I'm looking for that valve pre-like sound but keeping the MF as the volume and source selector.

Neutrality in a preamplifier is usually a good thing, but I'm now craving a touch of tube sweetness and 3-D image palpability.

I've not been quite so gob-smacked with valve power amps so I don't think that's the answer either.

 

[Fulci]

iFi makes a valve buffer to be placed between DAC and preamp. Not expensive so should be worth a try.

 

[adamdea]

After listening to other systems, I seems real evident to me that valve preamps make digital music really expressive with lot of lovely acoustic space - I've been very impressed.

However I already have a decent preamp in the form of a Music First Copper - I like the features on it and I like the volume control. But can I compliment this with a valve/tube buffer in order to get that open, intimate and spacious sound that a valve preamp seems to portray? Obviously I don't need the impendance matching capabilities of the buffer because the MF does that already - I'm looking for that valve pre-like sound but keeping the MF as the volume and source selector.

Neutrality in a preamplifier is usually a good thing, but I'm now craving a touch of tube sweetness and 3-D image palpability.

I've not been quite so gob-smacked with valve power amps so I don't think that's the answer either.

I seem to remember there was a firm making TVCs called Prometheus (possibly spelt eccentrically?) and I seem to remember they made a valve buffer

 

[hifinutt]

I am a huge fan of mfa pre amps . just had the copper mark 2 and sold it to raise funds
real big spacious sound . would a lampizator dac/pre be worth a look at . I had one here for an afternoon and it was pretty special