Blue Circle Pre-Amp BC3-PLS

The Blue Circle BC3 PLS is a dual mono tube linestage preamplifier. It is also fully upgradeable all the way to the BC3000GZpz.

This BC3 PLS has all the same features functions and options as the rest of the BC3 lineup. All point to point wiring.

I bought this fine pre-amp from an AudiogoN member 3 years ago and it has had infrequent use, as I am doing mostly home theater, and thus the sale. Rating is only for age. Perfect cosmetics.

It currently has as options, the dual Shallco's volume controls with remote volume added, blue chassis, and home theatre bypass. It has 2 sets of main outputs for home theatre, or sub woofer use.

It has been taken out of my system along with my BC 202 Amplifier, also for sale here on AudiogoN. No visible scratches or issues. I have recently reduced the price. In my 30 years in high end audio, I feel this equipment is very pure sounding and better than many pre-amps I have owned in the past. Very, very hard to beat the build quality and the flexibility of this preamp for my price.

I will include a spare unused 6922 tube and all shipping to the continental USA, PayPal is 3% extra.

I have excellent feedback on AudiogoN, and I pack gear very carefully, and I ship fully insured. You can buy from me with confidence. Direct contact is best, as I have had trouble with the new website. [email protected] 904-376-7134

I won't go into all the details about the BC3, but perhaps a description of the volume controls will illustrate the attention to detail that goes into its crafting. Each channel has its own volume control, totally hand-assembled from matched pairs of precision metal-film resistors, forming a true mono-ladder attentuator. Each of the 31 unique position contacts is constructed from military-grade coin silver and is self-cleaning. Each control takes approximately four hours to assemble. This is not a production preamp.

* external transformer power supply
* upgradeable all the way up to the BC3000GZpz. (in 4 steps)
* optional additions are USB input, phono stage, headphone output, and balanced configuration

From the Manufacturer ;

In the ten years or so since its introduction the BC3 design has remained essentially unchanged. Our attitude is that if a product is designed properly it shouldn't require regular upgrades and tweaks. This attitude is supported by the fact that the BC3 is still extremely popular and well regarded by the audiophile community.
The BC3 preamplifiers epitomize what Blue Circle Audio is all about. They typify how we believe components should be designed and crafted. They are not the most expensive components we make, nor are they the least expensive. They are the "meat-and-potatoes" components for that special someone who is deadly serious about music reproduction and doesn't have a totally unlimited budget. No bells and whistles, no remote controls (OK...we've become a bit more flexible on this one), no exotic cosmetic treatments and no submission to some fad or design dogma. Every penny you spend on these components is dedicated to music and simple elegance.
Preamps build around vacuum tubes simply sound better. There are good sounding solid-state preamps, and there are bad sounding tube preamps. But given the choice, when cost is not an overriding issue, tubes are the way to go. Here are some of the things that make the BC3 (MKII) worthy of your attention:
Still.. Dual Triode Single-ended Class A Topology
Still.. Totally dual mono in the signal path including volume and input selector controls
Still.. Totally handcrafted featuring point to point hardwiring and no PCB's in the signal path
Still.. Extremely high gain and current capability for long interconnect runs
Still.. only 5 resistors per channel
Still.. hand-built one at a time, run and tested for 50 hours and personally inspected by Gilbert before shipping


Technical Information BC3 :

*5 Line level inputs, 1 loop input (3 line level inputs for balanced version)
*Optional USB input available
*2 Pre-amp outputs, 1 loop output
*Tube complement: 2-6922
*Power requirement: 120Vac 50/60Hz 38Watts - available in 100, 220, 240 Vac
*Dimensions:
-Main chassis: 17.5" (width) x 3.25" (height) x 14.6" (depth)
-BCG3: 5.25" (width) x 3.25" (height) x 8.25" (depth)
-BCG3.1: 6" (width) x 5.375" (height) x 14.6" (depth)
Weight (without packaging):
-BC3: 35 lbs.
-BCG3: 5lbs.
-BCG3.1: 16lbs.

For detailed interior photos of the BC3 Despina and Galatea visit the BC gallery.