Just about time to get a new preamp... suggestions?

tcrossma

I've made a ton of improvements on my system over the past 6 months and i'm now ready to begin looking at a new preamp. This will be added to my combined HT/2-channel system, so i'm looking for a pre-amp with an HT bypass (unity gain) in order to integrate it with my existing system. I'll probably purchase this in about a month.

I'm looking to spend between $700-1000. When I started building this system I had an Adcom GFP-750 in the back of my mind because of a lot of good things i'd heard about it. But I don't know if it'd be good enough or if I need to go a bit better?

My current thought (which seems to change daily) is to first get a good 2-channel pre-amp to integrate with my system in order to improve CD's, and then sometime afterwards upgrade my AVR with a good pre/pro.

If anyone has any good arguments for instead replacing my pre/pro first, i'd like to hear them. My first priority though is improving the sound of 2-channel CD's. HT sounds just fine right now to me. I *do* play some SACD's as well, and they of course would not benefit from a 2-channel pre. But they sound pretty good as-is so my first priority is still CD's.

So anyone have any specific models that I should be looking at?

Thanks a bunch.

tim

dkg999

You might consider a B&K Ref 50s2 pre/pro. I've been pretty impressed with the pre section in my B&K AVR 507s2 for music. You might be able to get away with one pre/pro for both music and HT. It would mate well with your B&K amp.

tcrossma

Thanks for the suggestion. I have considering going with a B&K Ref 50 as well and just wasn't sure if it'd be good enough for 2-channel. What i'm concerned about is getting a new pre/pro and finding that it is lacking for my CD playback. Since i'm likely to be limited to 1 purchase over the next 6 months I want to make sure I make the right decision.

F1nut

I *do* play some SACD's as well, and they of course would not benefit from a 2-channel pre.

Excuse me, but yes they will.

TroyD

what F1 said, I'm not sure why you would think that.

In terms of a preamp, the Adcom is a highly regarded piece. A preamp that I would look at (but may be out of your price range) is Conrad Johnson PV-14, as the HT pass through seems to be a deal breaker.

BDT

reeltrouble1

well, I am hedging on selling the Dodd MLP as it just does not see much duty, has what you need and then some but its a bit out of your price range.

RT1

tcrossma

F1nut wrote: »

Excuse me, but yes they will.

I should have qualified that I meant multi-channel SACD's (5.1), which would not go through the 2-channel pre because i'd have it in HT bypass at that point.

An SACD in stereo would benefit from the pre. Do I have that logic correct?

reeltrouble1

A better pre will help all channels it sends a signal to.

Most of the super duper pre's we covet are two channel so I can see where you would think that.

RT1

Yashu

NAD c162 is one of the best performance for your money 2 channel pres out there.

They also have some pre/pros if you are willing to spend more, but for music, it is hard to beat the c162. Adcom may be a good performer, but their components can sound kindof harsh, to me anyway, or at least... they tend to have a less pleasing sound. Both NAD and Adcom preamps are class A gain stages, adcom has cheaper ones that are not, but in a preamp, I would not consider one with gain that is not pure class A. The power level that a pre deals with, it is not like having a pure class A gain stage is going to be power hungry, hot, or otherwise hard to build. The preamp is where you need to treat your signal with the most care. Some people use the preamp of their choice and then a strong neutral poweramp to back it up. A tube preamp and a strong, clean, SS poweramp can convey what some people enjoy about tubes right though to the speakers. I don't know if this is totally true, but it is worth consideration, when understanding how important your preamp is within your entire system.

Many people actually build a solid 2 channel system, and then buy a cheap 5.1 or 7.1 receiver and just use it as a processor. That is one way to look at building the system, 2 channel first and then HT. It doesn't work as well visa versa.

tcrossma

The dilemma I keep coming back to is that if I upgrade to a pre/pro such as the B&K Ref 50 that'll improve my 5.1 SACD's as well as my CD playback. If I add a 2-channel pre with HT bypass and keep my existing AVR, then my 5.1 SACD's will sound *exactly* the same as they do now (because it'll be bypassing the 2-channel pre). But I'll likely get a big improvement in my CD playback.

So the question remains to me, if I can only upgrade one or the other, which should I do? I'm leaning towards adding a 2-channel pre, but that's mainly because i'm afraid that a new pre/pro will not be good enough for CD's.

I'm not in a position to be able to try both (mainly because of the WAF and my current purchase sprees).

Thanks for all the input thus far.

tim