Preamp whats an old good one

Deadof_knight

Im trying: to do a 2 channel setup with my Sda 1.2tls and carver tfm 35 and my yamaha mx-830 amp my question is whats a good older preamp that I might be able to find. Im in the process of aquring an rega planet cd player so any suggestions would help. confused:

dudeinaroom

I love my adcom gfa 555

hearingimpared

Deadof_knight wrote:

Im trying: to do a 2 channel setup with my Sda 1.2tls and carver tfm 35 and my yamaha mx-830 amp my question is whats a good older preamp that I might be able to find. Im in the process of aquring an rega planet cd player so any suggestions would help. confused:

If you can get your hands on a Spectral DMC 10 or 20 you will IMHO have acquired the cream of the vintage crop. The only problem you may encounter (besides finding one) is that it is very transparent and will expose so so associated equipment.

Systems

Bryston BP20,
Audio Reseach SP9,LS3
Audible Illusions modulus 3,
Hafler SE100,915
Adcom 565, meant 750 not 575 the one with MOSFETS desgned by N Pass.

Ricardo

hey Russ, why not grabbing a tube pre? It would work wonders to those babies. Are you bi-amping?

Deadof_knight

Well I was going to yes on the BI-amp thing. I have a Denon 3300 2000 and a 2800. As far as Receivers go But the latter lack any main preouts . I was hoping for a very clean minimalist look as far as the install goes cd transport preamp and amps.

And I also havent a clue as to what tube preamp would be a good one

What got me on the Rega kick was I went to a friends house Bob Zwaan eh owns the local HIFI shop , He has one ,some levison amps and some hand made speakers Ive never heard of before but WOW the sound GOOD. Even the bookshelves sound sweet. Green mountains or something I will see them again soon to be sure. I spent my funds on those 1.2s of yours. Im trying to put it together in another room as a simple two cahnnel rig with minimal fund involvement. But I want to find a good quality no frills preamp. The Adcoms are kinda appealing to me at the moment until you metioned tube, Kinda throws me a curve any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

reeltrouble1

Rega makes quality audio gear.

For older high quality pre's NAD made outstanding ss models.

RT1

Ricardo

I asked the bi-amp question because you mentioned the Carver and Yamaha... not sure you can/should bi-amp with receivers though......

For the preamp, it all depends on your budget; you can get a nice entry level tube pre for $300-$500, or save a little to get something a bit higher in the food chain. Maybe get a $100 Adcom pre to start with, and save for a nice tube pre?

Deadof_knight

Oh no Im not doing it with recievers ,I was just stating what I had receiver wise. the only problem with the latter models is they dont have main preouts so there kinda out. Whats the forums opinion on the ole Carver C-2 for starters...... ? Im looking at some Nad's. I like the idea get a carver or adcom and then get the good stuff when the funds are available. 300-500 is capable.... My cousin was pretty uhm lets say His words were you paid how much for some speakers and then he heard them hahaha. He was amazed. Thanks for the opinions in advance

heiney9

Nakamichi Ca-5 or Ca-5 II. Outstanding performance and rock solid reliabiity and a stellar phono section (if you need that). Laughably reasonable on the used market.

Performs way beyond its price point. Nice alps pots, copper power rail, torodial transformer, all discrete short run circutry, very high quality internals.

H9

P.s. Far better construction and parts than the typical Adcom and NAD of the day. BTW, I'm a big Adcom fan but the only pre I'd own is the Gfp-750. Used they still command between $600-800. The Nak isn't quite up to that standard but it can be had in the $200-350 range which is a steal ofr the perfromance it gives.

reeltrouble1

Your thought on the NAD is very wise, they can be had for as little as 150.00 or less, I have had excellent results with NAD gear, I still have an 1130 pre-amp which has a strong Club Polk lineage, their older pre amps have excellent phono stages, defeat switches, mono stage, many features still sought after in todays high end pre-amps.

Their new gear offers some of the best value for the dollar in the industry.

RT1

mlhm5

How about a C-4? C-80, C-70 or a C-1?

Yamaha made some really good stuff back then. I just bought an M-4 and C-4 for $170, so the prices can be right.

Also search craigslist in the bay area for the most electronics.

hearingimpared

You can't go wrong with an old NAD pre. . . I owned one before I purchased the Spectral and was happy with it.

RuSsMaN

Quicksilver, Melos, Golden Tube Audio, Dodd, Anthem, Sonic Frontiers

Start looking at agon daily, find a good, solid, used tube preamp. Any listed above will bring an total new dimension to the Carver amps.

Kahuna

Your using a Carver amp, why not consider their pre-amp?
The 2 that I would consider from Carver are the C-16 and a C-19. (The former is a solid state version of C-19 and features sonic holography which the C-19 does not have). It sounds nearly as good as the C-19. The C-16 MAIN 1 output was designed to replicate the output from the Stock C-19 and has a warmer sound. The MAIN 2 output is a classic solid state voice. The C-19 is a tube hybred and uses 4 vacuum tubes. (2 in the line amplifier and 2 in the phone stages).

mhardy6647

HH Scott 122 or 130 could be very nice. EICO HF-85's not bad. Dyna PAS-3 isn't much to write home about stock, but can be the raw material for any of a number of "aftermarket" improvements to give a good, functional preamp at a reasonable price.

The 1970's Yamaha solid state preamps were pretty decent, and nice looking (purposeful). The David Hafler preamp (DH-101?) was a very nice, bare-bones piece of hardware. I also always liked the Apt/Holman preamp of the same era.

New production preamps/kits worth considering would include the Bottlehead Foreplay III, Transcendent Sound Grounded Grid Preamp, and any of Juicy Music's offerings (the Merlin being most affordable).

I am guessing that price is a consideration?

george daniel

there was a dodd elp on audiocircles last week for 400.00

george daniel

and it's still available--no afil.

Ricardo

Russ, if you can afford those $400, you can't get any better than that for less than a grand....

Edit: well you might, but that Dodd is up there with higher priced stuff

Deadof_knight

Thanks for all the input IM shopping now !! Merry Christmas to me!

Deadof_knight

OK anyone Know anything about a NAD 1300

reeltrouble1

That NAD line of pre's was the shizzle in its day, NAD was one of the first companies to offer quality gear at lower cost, it will serve you well and is generally considered by most to be on the warm side, however, the 1.2tl, really would shine with tubes, the mentioned Melos is an excellent example. If you want to get the NAD as a stepping stone to hold you and you can spend the dough its a nice little pre, not the end all, but nice. I cant really speak to that exact model as I have not owned it, but I do have an 1130 and it does the trick, I am using it on my computer rig.

RT1