Advise on vintage preamplifiers

leftwinger57

When my Onkyo P-301 finally died for good I kinda rushed out and got something real quick off C/L. This now appears to be such a latteral move that as soon I as some cash starts flowing again I want I different vintage preamp.The one I have now,also an Onkyo P3150v for the same price of my 5/6 y/o 301 @ $ 60. The 3150v acts and sounds exactly the same and for some cosmetic things like not as deep but higher and different led set up it's basically the same pre. I was looking at some Carver C-17 s and there seems to be a lot of them on E-Bay for some reason. I would love a Sansui but they are off the charts cash wise. So guys can you recommend a pre/amp with phono,cd, tuner, or aux inputs that used and around late 70s early 80s for $100 and not much more.I Already have an Adcom amp so I was looking at those models also which obviously would a made match. Oh, built in tuner is not a requirement just need tuner or aux in to pick up all my sources from my Yamaha RX-V665 like I-POD, I-NET radio, FM, and TV.

tonyb

Why not just keep what you have and save up for something that will make a significant difference. 100 bucks isn't going to buy you anything other than lateral moves.

erniejade

The p301 is a solid pre for the cash. The adcom 565 is also a solid pre for the cash. Otherwise, I'm with tonyb .

cnh

The P-301 is good for the money. The P-304 and higher, even better.

The Hafler DH-110 can sometimes be found for around a $100+. And it won't disappoint even if it's not as good as what tony is suggesting. It's better than most Adcoms (IMO) except the "best" Adcoms (the 715 and 750). I hope I have that # right!

Some Carvers are OK if you're into the Carver sound, which is about 50/50 at Club Polk. Some find it too soft/warm, others like it for that. I don't have enough dealings with Carvers so hopefully someone will jump in here.

My Nakamichi CA-5 is an exceptional performer for the money--very clean and DEAD silent. You can sometimes find it for about $225-250. (I lucked out at $200, with the Manual, and in MINT condition, the guy had hardly used it, it looks NEW! He bought it NOS).

Hopefully more will chime in. I know what you're thinking, I wouldn't want to let everyone here raise my stakes till I was putting out over $400-500 for an SS pre unless I had the cash. And if I had that cash, I'd go tubes for the Pre at that point.

Good Luck!

cnh

deronb1

You could probably get into a Parasound PL/D 1100 for around 150.00. Great phono stage and remote.

tonyb

If you really want to up your game....on the cheap, get a used processor from a higher end company and sell the Yamaha. Don't know why you need a pre and a receiver for one system.

I've seen Anthem AVM 2's or AVM 30's for as little as 200 bucks. B&k reference 30's or 50's for the same.

evilgenius68

I have a Yamaha rx-v661 you can run the front pre outs to your amp/s..Although the manual advises against using the pre outs along with the front on board amplification I haven't had any issues doing it. When I was in between AVR s I purchased a digital to analog converter to feed my amp via opti.as a temp solution . You can also use that method from your v661 opti out but if I remember correctly it is assigned from a specific source.i.e.DVD etc.

Easy Runnin

What about an older receiver with pre outs lile a Yamaha CR or a Marantz 22 series?

11tsteve

the old NAD 1020 has a reputation for a decent phono section and can be had for $100 or so on Ebay, now and then. And they tend to have a very warm sound. I have one, though not being used as a pre right now.... but I have not had a turntable plugged into it for a very long time. All I remember is liking it way back in the day.

Glen B

I'm with those who suggest saving your money and getting a much better preamp.

steveinaz

I enjoyed and used in the past Yamaha C-60/65 and C-80/85 preamps. They were extremely well built, dead quiet and smoooooth. Everytime I tried to replace them, I ended up buying another one.

leftwinger57

After Tony shot me down I didn't even look any further at the post. Yes I know you get what you pay for but I do tend to luck out. I don't think I would go w/ another 301 those inputs are a real achilles heal. As why I have both a pre/amp and an avr is 2 fold. I had the avr 1st, you know the clipping story and got the Adcom555. Then got the 2chl bug and soon a tt appears and my cd has both analog and HDMI outputs.So why now use both,variety boys variety. I take audio out of the Yamaha into the tuner in of the Onkyo. I then mute the Klipsch smalls and then get I-Net radio, fm, tv and my I-Pod all through the 2chl system and yes it works great and having 600 songs LPs or CDs going through the 2Bs or any other sets I have is sonic pleasure for me. That's why both devices.

pumpkinman

I've sent you a PM

P-man