Upgraditis. Some advice needed

vmaxer

Wow, not too far to met in the middle if needed. I love the Chattanooga area.

Go through there once or twice a year to visit my mother in GA.

Nightfall

What are the odds? 1 in 50 I suppose.

vmaxer

I hope to be coming through there soon to visit my mother and sister. Maybe we could meet and let you try out a couple of amps in your system??

vmaxer

Not trying to sell anything, just let you hear for yourself and then buy somewhere else.

Gunther16

In my humble opinion work on a pre-amp first. I started out with an all Adcom system, amps, Preamp, line conditioner etc. The first major step up was a B&K Ref 30 preamp. Major improvement. The only thing Adcom left now are 2 Adcom 555II of which one is in service and the other in storage for possible future use and an Adcom ACE-515 Line conditioner . For the money I don't think you can get a better amp.

JPete

vmaxer wrote: »

I hope to be coming through there soon to visit my mother and sister. Maybe we could meet and let you try out a couple of amps in your system??

I'm down for that anytime man. Just let me know when and I'll make sure to provide beverages of your choice and at least a good meal. I'd love to get some feedback on my systems from someone else with the same hobby and more experience.

pkquat

The Adcom should be more than enough power to drive the CRS. I have heard the Adcoms don't age as well, and can need a tune up, while others hold up just fine. Of the Adcoms though, the 555 is really nice. I would check amp DC offset. This can color and effect the sound stage. Anywhere around 100mV and it needs service, and you would probably hear that. Below 50mv is good. Below 20mV is great, and below 10mv is excellent.

I am not an expert on Carvers, but I know there are some to stay away from. Some do not age well at all. They are are not a top choice in my book.

If you like the tube sound and look, I do recommend that.

JPete

The Adcom drives the CRSs into submission without breaking a sweat. It's driven my Paradigms, Time Windows and other Polks just as well too. I have no problem with it, and as I said before, it's mint. Fully serviced right before I bought it 5 years ago. New PS caps and some resistors swapped according to the receipt the original owner provided.. Runs as cool as an eskimo's ****.

I'm just thinking about changing some things around. Adcom will stay, but in a second system if I find something I feel sounds better in the main system.

JPete

Skip, that P5 is sweet. Difference in sound compared to P3, or just more options?

Schurkey

Consider Acurus-brand equipment.

Good pedigree, good engineering, good assembly and parts quality.

The original Mondial versions are getting along in years. While the parts quality was good, electrolytic caps are known for a finite service life, just like in speaker crossovers.

For that matter, Mondial-era Aragon equipment can be a good buy. There's an Aragon 24K preamp on US Audio Mart for $280. Has a nice phono section, too. No affiliation. If I didn't already have one, I'd jump on it myself--assuming it has the round Penney and Giles volume pot instead of the cube-shaped Noble volume pot. EITHER version will be a considerable upgrade from the Adcom; although the P&G is preferred--and--there's no tone controls or headphone jack. (My Adcom GFP-565 had a Noble cube volume pot. I liked that preamp, sold it when I went multichannel. Nearly bought another one a month ago at a pawn shop. Price was right, but they wouldn't let me listen to it, and the combination of GFP-565 and GFA 545 II wouldn't output any sound. They couldn't tell me which of the two components (or both) were defective.)

http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649232410-aragon-24k-preamplifier-with-phono-and-isolated-power-supply/

honestaquarian

Aragon was some great kit back in the day.
Someone finally revived the brand recently.

gudnoyez

DSkip wrote: »

Crs? I would suggest two things:

1. IFi Stereo 50. All in one solution with that tube soul. It will rock those crs.
2. Dayens Ampino and a Marantz SA-8005. Yeah, it's another integrated. Yeah, its a source you didn't talk about wanting. Yeah, it's going to get you closer to audio nirvana than any other route I can think of for that dough. This is of course if you don't need phono.

So this ifi 50 which I had the pleasure of seeing push those big ol Usher Be 10s would do fine with my CRS+s that means it's common ground and would get me the tube sound I desire can you roll tubes with it, Skip tell us more seems like an upgrade over my 545II that power my CRS+ s. This sounds like a route me and the OP should check into.

JPete

I'm really getting into the idea of replacing my Adcom pre with a Parasound P5 as of now. I feel like it would be a good move up in preparation of a newer amp in the future. Still researching other pres though, but Parasound is pretty high up. I like the idea of streaming digital files without an outboard DAC, which I was also contemplating on buying. Not to mention is has balanced ins and outs for my next upgrades.

honestaquarian

I used to own a Parasound home theater preamp that came out right before the turn of the century. I cannot recall the model number,buy I lusted after it for years though. It was like five grand new and I waited long enough to get a used one for six hundred bucks. I really loved it,but it couldn't pass Hi-Def without an expensive factory upgrade. So I replaced it with an Integra. Both Onkyo and Integra preamps can stream and have balanced outputs. I'm using mine to drive my Sunfire amp. Also you can get those features with Yamaha Aventage,NAD and Marantz preamps.

JPete

I'm using a Marantz in my HT setup that has more features than need right now. It's great for HT. Sonically, I feel like the Paradigm mains don't sound as good on 2 CH listening now as they did when I was running them with dedicated 2 channel gear. Probably has more to do with the Emotiva amp that replaced an NAD 2200PE than the Marantz.

Anyway, still looking for a good 2 channel preamp that has a DAC and other bells and whistles or a great preamp only and an external DAC combo to use in the CRS system. I ran the Adcom stuff pretty hard last night and decided not to jump into something new without extensive research.

honestaquarian

JPete wrote: »

I'm using a Marantz in my HT setup that has more features than need right now. It's great for HT. Sonically, I feel like the Paradigm mains don't sound as good on 2 CH listening now as they did when I was running them with dedicated 2 channel gear. Probably has more to do with the Emotiva amp that replaced an NAD 2200PE than the Marantz.

Anyway, still looking for a good 2 channel preamp that has a DAC and other bells and whistles or a great preamp only and an external DAC combo to use in the CRS system. I ran the Adcom stuff pretty hard last night and decided not to jump into something new without extensive research.

@JPete WELL SAID!!!!
I think the main diff that you might hear is something that sounds a bit warmer than the older Adcom's sterile,cold,clinical sound.

honestaquarian

Come to think of it NAD sounds pretty good with Polk

vmaxer

@JPete

Let me know which direction you are going. I am willing to ship you the Parasound amp to try if you want. Don't want to sell it though.

JPete

I'm way off track from where I started now... Looking at some of the pre/DAC combos from w4s, monarchy, etc. Can't help thinking that my preamp is the weakest of the weak links right now.

tonyb

JPete wrote: »

I'm way off track from where I started now... Looking at some of the pre/DAC combos from w4s, monarchy, etc. Can't help thinking that my preamp is the weakest of the weak links right now.

That's because it is.

The P5 is a great solution for you, offers a lot for the buck. Upgrade some cables with it and swap out the amp down the line when your wallet recovers.

Many other options exist, Musical fidelity M6I integrated used would be close to your budget and also sounds wonderful on Polks. Really, just too many to point you towards and confuse you. Certain brands get recommended more so than others because they go together with Polks like PB&J.

Start where you feel comfortable, anything you pick will be an improvement over the Adcom pre.

JPete

There are way too many for sure. I really like the W4S mPre feature set, but it's ugly in my opinion and doesn't have the bass management like the P5. 24/96 limit on the P5 usb is disappointing, but I don't have an archive of hirez files yet anyway. Guess I can always get an external DAC down the road if I need higher sampling.

Realistic

Hi Pete I have the p5 pre and a hca 1500 a driving sda 2s and I am very happy. Skip is a great guy to deal with, and to ask for advice. All these guys here helped me in my pre and my power amp struggle you will not regret taking there advice. I think the parasound is the way to go but take what I say about the equipment choices lightly because I am very new to this, but as far as my advice goes about the guys here you can take that to the bank. Bob.

F1nut

Musical fidelity M6I integrated used would be close to your budget and also sounds wonderful on Polks.

Good suggestion!

JPete

The M6i looks like a very sweet piece.

I think Skip and I have a deal worked out on a P5 and some IC upgrades I'm in need of as well. I really want separates for now so I have the flexibility of trying different amps for my next step up.

Time to start selling some gear to prepare. Anyone on here have a strange and uncontrollable obsession with buying old Carver or Kenwood Basic stuff?

tonyb

JPete wrote: »

The M6i looks like a very sweet piece.

I think Skip and I have a deal worked out on a P5 and some IC upgrades I'm in need of as well. I really want separates for now so I have the flexibility of trying different amps for my next step up.

Time to start selling some gear to prepare. Anyone on here have a strange and uncontrollable obsession with buying old Carver or Kenwood Basic stuff?

Some might, but ya need 100 posts to sell around here. The P5 is a good piece also. Tell Skip to include the required spatula and liquid soap to remove your sack off the back wall.

JPete

I already have the silicone spatula ready, along with some lithium grease. Seemed like a better idea than stainless steel and soap.

Maybe by the time I have 100 posts a new revelation about how wonderful the Kenwood basic gear sounds will come up and they'll actually be worth something.

vmaxer

tonyb wrote: »

JPete wrote: »

The M6i looks like a very sweet piece.

I think Skip and I have a deal worked out on a P5 and some IC upgrades I'm in need of as well. I really want separates for now so I have the flexibility of trying different amps for my next step up.

Time to start selling some gear to prepare. Anyone on here have a strange and uncontrollable obsession with buying old Carver or Kenwood Basic stuff?

Some might, but ya need 100 posts to sell around here. The P5 is a good piece also. Tell Skip to include the required spatula and liquid soap to remove your sack off the back wall.

Yep, must have the 100 posts, but you are basically half way there. Stick around and discussing and you will be there before you know it.

Good luck getting your system where you want it.

JPete

Thanks @vmaxer

And please do let me know the next time you make it through the N. GA/East TN area.