Audcom Tube Pre-Amp Review
dkg999
Posts: 5,647
I purchased the Audcom AP-110 pre-amp with sonicap mods from Russman recently. I want to publically thank Russ for his patience with the new tube equipment owner as he walked me through an issue with newly installed sonicaps that had not been broken in yet.
I am really impressed with this pre-amp! It replaced a Parasound P/HP-850, which is not a bad SS pre-amp at all. One of the things I didn't like about the Parasound 850 was that I was getting really boomy bass from my Magnepan 1.6's. I am in a pretty crowded apartment at the moment, so placement for the Maggies is not optimal, although they are about 30" out from the wall. The Audcom has really tightened up the bass, very noticable improvement. The mid-range is comparable to the Parasound in tonal quality, although I always thought this was a strong point for the Parasound 850. The upper end is now very much smoother, no digital graininess or hard edges. The upper end now kind of floats in the air! Overall the sound stage is much more expansive, and the vocals are much more forward sounding. I like this pre-amp a lot, and it's not even really broken in yet! The remote control has what I need when working from home, volume and muting. I was really surprised for a remote pre-amp in this price range that the volume control will move in small increments, it's easy to set it just where you want it. This is one of those rare purchases when I can say that I feel I got a lot more for the money spent than I expected! The Audcom had some good recommendations that I had found, and was talked up by Bizzy Bee audio at the Chicago Audio fest. I didn't have the opportunity to audition it prior to the sonicap mods Russ had done, however it rocks in its present state :cool:
My 2 ch. system consists of: Jolida 100 CDP (stock, Signal Cable Digital Power Cord), Audcom AP-110 pre (sonicap mod, Signal Cable Power Cord), Parasound HCA-1500 (x2, vertical bi-amping, Signal Cable Power Cords), Magnepan 1.6QR (stock except for cryo'd ceramic fuse replacements), Signal Cable Analog Two IC's, Signal Cable Ultra Double Run speaker cables, Parasound T/DQ-1600 tuner.
I am really impressed with this pre-amp! It replaced a Parasound P/HP-850, which is not a bad SS pre-amp at all. One of the things I didn't like about the Parasound 850 was that I was getting really boomy bass from my Magnepan 1.6's. I am in a pretty crowded apartment at the moment, so placement for the Maggies is not optimal, although they are about 30" out from the wall. The Audcom has really tightened up the bass, very noticable improvement. The mid-range is comparable to the Parasound in tonal quality, although I always thought this was a strong point for the Parasound 850. The upper end is now very much smoother, no digital graininess or hard edges. The upper end now kind of floats in the air! Overall the sound stage is much more expansive, and the vocals are much more forward sounding. I like this pre-amp a lot, and it's not even really broken in yet! The remote control has what I need when working from home, volume and muting. I was really surprised for a remote pre-amp in this price range that the volume control will move in small increments, it's easy to set it just where you want it. This is one of those rare purchases when I can say that I feel I got a lot more for the money spent than I expected! The Audcom had some good recommendations that I had found, and was talked up by Bizzy Bee audio at the Chicago Audio fest. I didn't have the opportunity to audition it prior to the sonicap mods Russ had done, however it rocks in its present state :cool:
My 2 ch. system consists of: Jolida 100 CDP (stock, Signal Cable Digital Power Cord), Audcom AP-110 pre (sonicap mod, Signal Cable Power Cord), Parasound HCA-1500 (x2, vertical bi-amping, Signal Cable Power Cords), Magnepan 1.6QR (stock except for cryo'd ceramic fuse replacements), Signal Cable Analog Two IC's, Signal Cable Ultra Double Run speaker cables, Parasound T/DQ-1600 tuner.
DKG999
HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED
Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED
Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
Post edited by dkg999 on
Comments
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Ahh, I remember that thread. Certainly looked like a great preamp chock full of features for its price. And now you've confirmed that it sounds good, too!
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Glad to hear you're enjoying it.HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
Glad you are enjoying it broham. Modded, you've got a real sleeper on your hands. Give it a couple more days, and it should really open up.
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
30" out from the wall should pretty much be pretty spot on for the 1.6's.
When I first saw Audcom, I thought it was a typo.
Pretty much the norm for the Rancho...dkg999 wrote:This is one of those rare purchases when I can say that I feel I got a lot more for the money spent than I expected!More later,
Tour...
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