Thread: Preamps choice - The Brick or TLA 5051

Quality - nah, they're both pretty good.

Sound, yep. The TLA stuff is technically tube, but doesn't have the same topology as the brick. In general, you'll hear more low-harmonic distortion from the tube which will imply that "warm" sound. From the TLA, you'll get kind of a warm sound, but in general, cleanliness is what you should expect from the TLA.

I've only played with the brick a little and so far, it's fine. I used a few of the older TLAs quite extensively and thought for the money, they're hard to beat. (Actually, I toyed with buying one of their consoles or an M3 for a while.)

In that price range though, my money is still on the Summit 2BA-221.

J.