A second pre as "buffer"

organ

Anyone ever try this? I remember the MF buffer stage and was just wondering what you guys think about using 2 tubed pre amps where the first one acts as a buffer. So the volume is raised to a certain level on the first pre and the 2nd pre controls the volume. With some tube rolling, one can have more options to tuning the rig to one's liking.

I tried doing this on my H/K receiver and the tube sound went through very nicely. All I did was insert a tubed pre between the CD player and receiver, set the volume on the tube pre to 10 o clock and use the H/K for master volume. I felt like the sound had more dynamics this way.

Maurice

ND13

Hmmmm....I wonder what the ELP and the HK 3380 would sound like together. I think I'll try that out this weekend for **** and grins.

Dennis Gardner

Stacking volume controls is "rarely" a good thing. My HK knocks the **** out of the "tube" sound of my preamp when hooked in series. Sounds lifeless and dull like the HK normally sounds. Don't get me wrong, I love my HK for processing my movies, but for 2 channel critical listening, I've moved substantially beyond what the HK can give with a just a few components.

I can't believe that I actually typed that paragraph above since it has been less than 2 years ago that I thought the sound of my HK was the bomb musically..............oh how things change.

Airplay355

interesting idea. Did you lose any output because of the 2 volume controls?

Dennis Gardner

If anything, you gain volume, since each level is amplified. Just keep in mind that the distortion level of each amp is added to the next and this may not alway be pleasant.

TroyD

Using two tubed preamps?

Maybe I'm missing something (I understand the concept) but I don't see the advantage to it.

BDT

Dennis Gardner

TroyD wrote:

Using two tubed preamps?

Maybe I'm missing something (I understand the concept) but I don't see the advantage to it.

BDT

Maurice was adding the tube pre to an H/K SS receiver as a buffer to improve the sound. I personaly didn't see much improvement in my testing.

W WALDECKER

TroyD wrote:

Using two tubed preamps?

Maybe I'm missing something (I understand the concept) but I don't see the advantage to it.

BDT

i was always told that the shorter the signal path the better. i seem to be missing the point as to why two preamps would be beneficial to the sound quality. what am i missing here?...WCW III

madmax

You will end up with the worst aspects of both units multiplied together. Forget both boxes sitting there for a minute and think only of a single tube pre with several stages. You can think of each stage as a seperate box so your thinking isn't too far off. The real question is whether or not you have adequate gain in one box. If not, it makes sense so long as both are of the same quality. Although, the noise and problems of both are multiplied. Much like when you add an extra stage or two for a phono. This is why people pay thousands for a phono pre.
madmax