new to two channel and need some of your knowledge, Passive or powered pre amp?

logo896

Currently in the process of ditching my emotiva upa-5 junk. I just picked up a B&K reference 200.2 and am not looking back. Currently my UMC-1 is my pre amp in my living room and im rocking some lsi 9's and an SVS sub I love. I have a cheap sony Cd player and also most of my audio is digital loss less format from my laptop via Itunes. Im really only interested in the music at this point and im caring less and less about HT set ups. With that being said Ive started looking at the reference 50 S2 which is a home theater pre amp but Ive heard is good for music as well. should i do something like this or just go for a passive one from another brand? If i do that does that mean im going to have to drop for a DAC as well? Please let me know your thoughts,

regards,


Stone Fortress

quadzilla

If you go for passive all your source components will have to be able to supply sufficient gain on their own to drive the amp. A passive is basically just a volume attentuator, which is what most people end up using their preamps for any way. I've heard some very good passives, but I've also heard some very good active preamps.

In the end, you're going to have to decide what you like and get that, not what we tell you to get.

logo896

i guess my question really is if i use the 3.5 mm off my lap top and also just play my cd player in anolog is that going to sound only as good as my sound card and my cd player? I mean i plan on buying an OPPO at some point but that will be later on. I do agree that sound will be very subjective to anyone though. thanks for the replay

tonyb

If your going to stay solid on playing music from your laptop as a source, you will want a dac, no pre amp will do as much as a seperate dac for computer files. Buy used and save a buck.

falconcry72

tonyb wrote: »

If your going to stay solid on playing music from your laptop as a source, you will want a dac, no pre amp will do as much as a seperate dac for computer files. Buy used and save a buck.

Yes.

Get an external DAC. You can use it to improve both your laptop as a source and your CD transport as a source.

For the best sound out of the laptop, you'll either need a DAC that has an asynchronous USB input built in, or a USB > SPDIF converter used in combination with a non-USB DAC.

It doesn't have to be expensive to make a big improvement.

Look at the Musical Fidelity V-DAC mk2. It's 350 new.

zingo

You can also get a DAC with volume control which would solve both problems at once. Audio-GD's new NFB-79 DAC has volume control built in, as well as a remote control which would make it my choice if I ever go back that route.

If you want to know more about passive preamp, I got a pretty good education myself from Tim and Luminous Audio. You can shoot him an email from their website and he can help you with all aspects including the math.

falconcry72

zingo wrote: »

You can also get a DAC with volume control which would solve both problems at once. Audio-GD's new NFB-79 DAC has volume control built in, as well as a remote control which would make it my choice if I ever go back that route.

That NFB-9 looks sweet.

zingo turned me onto Audio GD, and I'm very glad he did. Excellent fit/finish/quality for the price.


I love that the 9 has a remote. (a cool aluminum one at that!) I'd still use it with a preamp, so I wouldn't use the DAC's volume control, but it would nice to be able to switch inputs on the DAC with a remote; it makes evaluating sources very easy.

cubdog

My Bel Canto Dac 1.5 also operates as a preamp. It gets good reviews and sounds great to my ear.

cubdog

fyrn

How come you didn't like the Emo?

logo896 wrote: »

Currently in the process of ditching my emotiva upa-5 junk.

Stone Fortress

polkfarmboy

I have the upa5 that I use as a steeping post to stand on in the shopping mall as I preach the word

polkfarmboy

Its not worth the return shipping .Think on it ...$60 - $70 just so they can put a $2.50 binding post on a f'd up amp they sent me . I wont return it for that principle .You gota stick to your guns the same way you do when you speak up and defend your favorite brand

Ever saw that movie skyline where everyone gets sucked into the blue light so there brains can be used as a marketing tool ...

Hawkeye

PFB, you're not making sense. That piece sold for what, 500-600 dollars? Spend the money on shipping to get it fixed then sell it. Or sell it with the buyer being aware of the broken post. I'm sure there are alot of folks who like the EMO line that would jump on this.

Gordon

cstmar01

IMO a passive pre amp is great however you have to make sure your source is going to have enough gain and it can be difficult sometimes.

If you mostly using a computer for your audio then the DAC would be a great way to go. Some DAC's that you can use as a pre amp as well would be the PS audio Perfect Wave, Wyred for Sound DAC2, or Benchmark. There are others but these are a few. They will run a bit more with the PS PWD around 3K new and used can be bought for 1500 or so. Wyred would run 1500 new and the benchmark around 1200-1500 I think (its been a bit since I looked at what they are going for).

Also what you can then do as well is run your CDP into the DAC as well and use it as a transport to just read the discs. The DAC would do the work of the conversion.

If you still want a pre amp to run one that can do passive and active is the Adcom GFP 750. Its a great pre and goes for around 700 on the used market. Otherwise active pres are great and depending on what kind of sound you want there are several choices between tubes, SS ect. Also it comes down to your budget and what your going to end up hooking up.

I would also ask myself if I was planning on running a vinyl rig or if its just the computer audio you're into. The oppo is a good player but you can also get different CDP or SACD as well that would be dedicated. Just is going to come down to your budget and needs.

polkfarmboy

Hawkeye wrote: »

PFB, you're not making sense. That piece sold for what, 500-600 dollars? Spend the money on shipping to get it fixed then sell it. Or sell it with the buyer being aware of the broken post. I'm sure there are alot of folks who like the EMO line that would jump on this.

Gordon

Well Gord I feel cheated so maybe I should just Let some one else deal with it .I wonder if I could sell it to one person and instead of shipping it to them I could send it to emo and they could send the repaired unit to the new buyer .I would ask this question on the emo forum but I got banned for saying the amp is cheap

decal

Oh no, not again !!!!!!

reeltrouble1

most importantly...get some Toobs in your rig!!!!

RT1