GM everyone, I was curious if anyone has a preamp paired with their T Jr and if there was any benefit of volume control vs using the volume on the Jr.? I have a Torii Jr. ordered but I am trying to decide if I want to only run a phono on it or use multiple sources such as a streamer or a CD player too.

Thanks for the info. I was afraid of adding too much gain and developing clipping.

I know this seems terrible but I like how the Supratek preamps look.  I have existing components for when the Torii Jr gets here but my current targets are a Supratek preamp, Pontus and Clayton Shaw's Caladan speakers. If I decide to stream, I'm looking at Lemin U2 mini.

I don’t have a Torii Jr., though I’ve been reading about it. I have the SE84UFO and last year I added the Lab12 Pre 1 to give me some gain (and remote control) … it transformed my system. By transformed I don’t mean taking it from poor to perfect, I mean from excellent to superb - at least in my room, my components, my tastes, etc.

The Pre 1 is single ended with two 6922 tubes. I don’t know which tubes come stock (I’ve not removed the cover … yet) but I’m not sure I could do much better or it would be worth the time and effort. Having a remote for all functions except power (the amp has no standby mode, which is due to such a feature being detrimental to its circuit design) is great.

I have the SE84 volume at 1 o’clock but I may back it off and play with other combinations. I seriously doubt that would make a big difference, if even noticeable.

Personally I would not use a solid state preamp in front of a tube power amp, at least not most SS preamps. I think a tube preamp feeding a (good) solid state amp makes more sense.