Dared SL2000A....Beautiful little pre-amp

Ricardo
Ricardo Posts: 10,636
edited October 2005 in Electronics
Got it today; this thing is a beauty......did not expect it to be so gorgeous.....the cool factor is definitely high :)

The tubes that come with it just say "China"; I ordered already two Mullard 12AT7 and a Jan Philips 5Y3; they should be here next week.

I just finished hooking up the separates, and I am really enjoying the sound, so here is what I plan to do to feed the SDA 1B's:

-Up to last week had the Denon 280 CD changer through the HK-3480
-Today I have the Cambridge Audio D500SE, through the Adcom GFP-555 and GFA-555; though I do miss the remote:), I do see a nice improvement; not sure how much comes from the separates or the CD player. I plan to keep the changer, so I can compare both players one of these days. How better is it? Well, aside from the obvious POWER, the sound stage seems wider (I can really notice that now....), and it's like you could separate all the instuments with ease; I am new to this so I cannot use all the words you guys would expect in a review.
-I plan to listen to the system as it is now for at least a week, and then will hook up the Dared; I really want to be able to tell the difference, and I think this will help.

I just want to thank this forum and all the people in it that have helped me on this. THANKS!!!!!
_________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPA
Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,413
    edited October 2005
    HTrookie wrote:
    I plan to listen to the system as it is now for at least a week, and then will hook up the Dared; I really want to be able to tell the difference, and I think this will help.QUOTE]

    Don't waste a week, put the Dared in now.

    Russ
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited October 2005
    Awesome. Looks like somebody is having some serious fun...
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited October 2005
    awesome find. Congratulations!
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2005
    HTrookie wrote:
    I just want to thank this forum and all the people in it that have helped me on this. THANKS!!!!!

    You're welcome!! Oh, wait...I didn't help....oh well...

    Congrats! Looks awesome! Good luck holding out an entire week!
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited October 2005
    There's no way you're going to stay away from it for a week.

    That's one cute pre amp. The only "cute" piece I own is my ASL pre. And now Audiobliss have some cute WAVE 8's. I also saw a lot of cute girls today. I wonder if they think I'm cute. OK, I better end this cute little post.

    Maurice
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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited October 2005
    Get that damn thing hooked up. You're just putting off the inevitable. If you're afraid you won't notice enough difference, don't be, cause you will. :)
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited October 2005
    ND13 wrote:
    Get that damn thing hooked up. You're just putting off the inevitable. If you're afraid you won't notice enough difference, don't be, cause you will. :)

    So true. Going tubes was like discovering audio for the first time again for me.
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited October 2005
    Congrats HT. A very good step for you. When evaluating try to think of the rig as a whole, how everything sounds working together. I'd love to see a pic of the rack when you can.

    RT1
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited October 2005
    Yeah..I also doubt I will be able to wait a full week before connecting the Dared :) I'm gonna be out of town the next 5 days, so hooking up the Dared won't happen until next weekend anyway...I spent too much time organizing the equipment/cables as it is now, so a quick install just to see how it sounds is not going to happen....

    Here is a pic of the system as it is now...VERY crowded....
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited October 2005
    audiobliss wrote:
    You're welcome!! Oh, wait...I didn't help....oh well...

    Congrats! Looks awesome! Good luck holding out an entire week!


    In fact...yes, you did help; your "Tube Preamps" thread was what made me pull the trigger...:)
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • jtgranby
    jtgranby Posts: 887
    edited October 2005
    Nice looking pre-amp. Where did you pick this up? Saw one on epay. The price seems reasonable.
    JT
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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited October 2005
    HTrookie wrote:
    Yeah..I also doubt I will be able to wait a full week before connecting the Dared :) I'm gonna be out of town the next 5 days, so hooking up the Dared won't happen until next weekend anyway...I spent too much time organizing the equipment/cables as it is now, so a quick install just to see how it sounds is not going to happen....

    Here is a pic of the system as it is now...VERY crowded....


    Now that you have enough gear for two seperate rigs, if you have the room/space, seperate them. All you need for your reference rig is the Dared, the Cambridge, the big Adcom, and the SDAs. You can hook up the XM tuna, also. Use the rest for your HT rig. If I've kept up, you shouldn't need any of your pieces to pull dual duty any longer, correct??
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited October 2005
    That's where I got it; ships from Chicago, and was here in 2 days.....sorry you have to wait so much for yours.... It would be interesting to compare the ELP with this one, being both around the same price point.

    Hey Noel, this could be a "project" we can plan to do some time.....
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited October 2005
    ND13 wrote:
    Now that you have enough gear for two seperate rigs, if you have the room/space, seperate them. All you need for your reference rig is the Dared, the Cambridge, the big Adcom, and the SDAs. Use the rest for your HT rig. If I've kept up, you shouldn't need any of your pieces to pull dual duty any longer, correct??

    Yes; my HT is using the Denon combo 3803/1910, and the RTi speakers. The only reason I have not separeated them is because I don'thave/find the right place for doing it....
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited October 2005
    Maybe sometime soon, I can try to make it over to Mason to check out your new toys. I'll bring my ELP with so we can do a shootout. I'll bet the major difference will be in the tubes. I've found that the 6DJ8 variants "SEEM" more musical, but the 12A(X,U,T)7s are more readily available and cheaper on the pocketbook. I need to get me some tubes to roll in the MLP so I can tune the Parasound/MLP combo more to my taste.
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited October 2005
    That would be great; I would love to have someone more experienced over to listen to what I have and make recommendations...

    Hmm..if we end going down to the Tennessee thing maybe we can put some time aside for this...
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • faster100
    faster100 Posts: 6,124
    edited October 2005
    I think myself i liked the 12ax7 better, can tell more of a diference from tube brand/make to tube.. and the 6dj8's seem extremely sensitive to microphonics, Just IMO, may not be for anyone else.. but i played heck finding quiet tubes in the make.. none of my ax7's had noise noticable enough to bug me anyways..

    Nice pre, I do want to try a ax,at variant tube pre again.. and their aint nothing like a big bottle rectifier or atleast a bigger glass rectifier :)
    MY HT RIG:
    Sherwood p-965
    Sherwood sd871 dvd
    Rotel 1075 amp x5
    LSI15 mains
    LsiC center
    LSIfx surround backs
    Lsi7 side surrounds
    SVS pb12/plus2

    2 Channel Rig:

    nad 1020 Pre-amp
    Rotel 1080 stereo amp
    Polk sda 2B
    kenwood grunt Tuner
    realistic lab 450 TT
    Signal cable IC
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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited October 2005
    What exactly does the rectifier do for the SQ????

    And I'm just going from my personal experience with the two Dodds I have. I might change my opinion after I get a couple of quality quads to roll in the MLP. Mine still has the stock tubes in it, Sovtek 12AX7LPSs. They are quite flat, almost too flat for my taste. I'd like to get a couple more Teles like I have in the monos being used as drivers. They're smooth plates from the late 50s or early 60s.
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • faster100
    faster100 Posts: 6,124
    edited October 2005
    I loved the Lps 12ax7's.. But they werent as exciting as some others.. The tube rectifier pre's supposed to sound warmer i think.. I just like the big tubes and to utilize as many tubes in the circuit as possible.. after all its the tube sound ya want, why have all kinds of ss in the mix
    MY HT RIG:
    Sherwood p-965
    Sherwood sd871 dvd
    Rotel 1075 amp x5
    LSI15 mains
    LsiC center
    LSIfx surround backs
    Lsi7 side surrounds
    SVS pb12/plus2

    2 Channel Rig:

    nad 1020 Pre-amp
    Rotel 1080 stereo amp
    Polk sda 2B
    kenwood grunt Tuner
    realistic lab 450 TT
    Signal cable IC
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  • W WALDECKER
    W WALDECKER Posts: 900
    edited October 2005
    HTrookie wrote:
    Got it today; this thing is a beauty......did not expect it to be so gorgeous.....the cool factor is definitely high :)

    The tubes that come with it just say "China"; I ordered already two Mullard 12AT7 and a Jan Philips 5Y3; they should be here next week.

    I just finished hooking up the separates, and I am really enjoying the sound, so here is what I plan to do to feed the SDA 1B's:

    -Up to last week had the Denon 280 CD changer through the HK-3480
    -Today I have the Cambridge Audio D500SE, through the Adcom GFP-555 and GFA-555; though I do miss the remote:), I do see a nice improvement; not sure how much comes from the separates or the CD player. I plan to keep the changer, so I can compare both players one of these days. How better is it? Well, aside from the obvious POWER, the sound stage seems wider (I can really notice that now....), and it's like you could separate all the instuments with ease; I am new to this so I cannot use all the words you guys would expect in a review.
    -I plan to listen to the system as it is now for at least a week, and then will hook up the Dared; I really want to be able to tell the difference, and I think this will help.

    I just want to thank this forum and all the people in it that have helped me on this. THANKS!!!!!
    Hey Man, congradulations on all the new gear, the Dared is a slick looking little tube preamplifier. now get that baby going and let us know how it feels to have a little of that tube Mojo running through your system Man. thanks....WCW III
    Rogue Audio stereo 100 tube amplifier - Lector Zoe preamplifier with 6H30 pi's
    .Audience AU24SE speaker and ic cables- Chord Qutest DAC - Black Cat Silverstar II 75ohm digital cable-Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature system with large bass cabinets to accommodate 10" Seas magnesium woofers.2xhmpsuownoj.jpg
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited October 2005
    ND13 wrote:
    What exactly does the rectifier do for the SQ????

    And I'm just going from my personal experience with the two Dodds I have. I might change my opinion after I get a couple of quality quads to roll in the MLP. Mine still has the stock tubes in it, Sovtek 12AX7LPSs. They are quite flat, almost too flat for my taste. I'd like to get a couple more Teles like I have in the monos being used as drivers. They're smooth plates from the late 50s or early 60s.

    Don't know exactly but it does affect the SQ. I started off with a Sovtek GZ34 and upgraded to a Mullard. The bass really improved and the Mullard made the whole system "bloom". I wasn't expecting any of these. I just wanted a rectifier that will "last forever" (Mullard).

    The Tele's are the best X7 I've heard. The sound is unbelievable. Got mine from Mike on Friday and I'm still burning it in. I plan to do a write up on this tube after it's broken in.

    Maurice
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