Offered for sale is this high performance Icon Audio LA5 TX tube preamplifier... Over the years I’ve owned quite a few preamplifiers by Parasound, Cary Audio, EAR, JOB, etc... None outperform this Icon Audio LA5 TX. I am the original owner and purchased the unit new from the authorized US retailer several months ago. You’ll immediate see the build quality in the photos. There is nothing second rate about this preamplifier. Even the remote is a solid hunk of metal. If you are the fortunate buyer of this preamplifier you will be in for a wonderful ownership experience! But it all comes down to the sound...I can describe it in one word... DIVINE.

I’m rating this unit most conservatively - let’s say 9/10. It could pass for a new unit. Now... here’s the best part...

Over the past few months I have upgraded the stock tubes to Sophia Electric Grade A tubes - 2 6SN7 and a gorgeous 274B mesh... In my opinion these tubes enable this preamplifier to reach its full performance potential. I’ve never had a preamplifier sound (or look) so good! I also have a matched pair of Shuguang Black Treasure CV181 tubes (used only for a few hours). This preamp will acommodate 6SN7’s and/or CV181’s giving you many opportunities to tailor the sound to your personal preference. Between the Sophia Electric and the Black Treasures, the combined value of these tubes is about $750. I am including them in this sale!

Local pickup is welcome and preferred. If shipped, preamplifier will ship in its original box and packaging along with all accessories. If paying via PayPal, please add 4% for fees.

The LA5 TX’s looks can kill - it’s gorgeous. Just wait until you hear it...sounds astounding.

Icon Audio LA5 TX Tube Preamplifier

Crave the Unmistakable Sound of Instruments, Voices, and Atmospherics in a Defined Acoustic Space?

...Meet Your New Favorite All-Valve Preamp

- Utilizes Two In-House-Developed Line-Level Output Transformers for Premium Balance

- PSU Involves Two Chokes in Double Pi Configuration for Inky Black Silence

At its core, Icon Audio’s transformer-based LA5 TX is an all-valve, low-gain line preamplifier that buffers the input and provides the transformer with peak drive. But unlike most of its transformer-based peers--many of which cost much, much more--the UK-designed component utilizes two in-house-developed line-level output transformers to achieve premium balance and astonishing extension, involving dynamics, tube-exclusive richness, and unshakable focus. The LA5 TX will instantly appeal to listeners that crave the unmistakable sound of instruments, voices, and atmospherics in a defined acoustic space.

The design logic behind the output transformers is rather simple. First, a 6SN7 valve buffers the input source, presenting a constant high-impedance load, making irrelevant the strength of the previous stage. (Conversely, if a transformer is only used for gain, the results depend on the power of the previous stage.) The LA5 TX’s transformer into a perfect balanced output or phono RCA. The preamp’s strikingly low 250-ohm output impedance is strong enough to drive practically any length or type of interconnect cable without doing any harm to the signal.

Going the distance, the LA5 TX has two chokes in double Pi configuration, which translates into optimal smoothing and inky black silence. A Western Electric-designed 274B rectifier valve--the finest-sounding power valve on the market--adds to the supreme aural presentation. Icon also employs the aforementioned 6SN7 double-triode audio valves, 1940s vintage devices defined by their fluid character, large size, long life, and tremendous stability. Users can also experiment with modern types.

Like all Icon amps and preamps, the LA5 TX is entirely point-to-point hand-wired and contains no printed circuit boards or transistors, which degrade valve performance and color the signals. It’s all in the service of ensuring that you’re hearing music in the finest-possible sound.

A DC heater supply, remote control, high-quality 2W metal film and wire-wound resistors, ALPS Blue motorized volume pot, Solen/SCR audio capacitors, four line inputs, record loop, and gold-plated input terminals are also standard.

Icon takes any worry out of the purchase by providing a two-year parts-and-labor warranty as well as full service and support for the lifetime of the product. That’s how it should be, and while most competitors don’t go to such extremes, Icon is happy to do so.