Any suggestions for a pre-amp?

Paden501

Hey all.

I'm back on the pre-amp hunt again. My wife and I have decided to furnish our living room (which is currently an empty room with just my stereo on a simple rack).

This is a good thing, except that my current Carver CT-17 pre won't fit into the entertainment center (the Carver is 19" wide, whereas the shelves are 18.125").

Sooo... I'm taking this as an opportunity to consider different pre-amps.

I'm looking for something in the sub $500 range used with as good of a MM phono section as possible and also with a remote control. If it has an HT pass through, that's also a bonus.

I'm currently thinking of something like a Rotel RC 1070 or something along those lines... but I've never heard that Pre before and I wonder how it compares to the CT-17 that I have.

I'm also interested in any other ideas for pre-amps that anyone has. I don't have to move on this right away because the furniture wont be here for a few weeks and I can just put the pre on top of it when it does for a while (we can't afford to put a TV there for a month or so).

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks,

DollarDave

I am very happy with my articulate, yet slightly warm, B&K PT-5. You can score them from around $175 to $350. No phono input, but a $75 NAD PP2 will fit that bill.

Paden501

Thanks for the idea Dave. I'll have to look into that B&K.

Another option I have been considering is the Adcom GTP-400 or GTP-500

Does anyone have any experience with either of those?

Thanks,

concealer404

The GTP-400 doesn't have a remote or an HT pass-through, but i like the way it sounds...

I have one in the FS section for $100 shipped, but on the flip side, if you're willing to spend $500 on a preamp, you can do better than it.

Paden501

Shoot I didn't realize that the GTP-400 doesn't have a remote. It's probably out of the running then because I have a Hafler DH-110 pre already without a remote (which I'm trying to get rid of btw).

concealer404

On that note... i'm going to second the B&K mentioned... I'm blown away by my Ref 5.

Paden501

I'll keep the B&K in mind. I'm not in a huge hurry here because the ent. center doesn't come for a few weeks still, and I don't have a TV for it anyway so I can just put the Carver gear on top until I find a good deal. I'm just trying to figure out my options right now. I know that the obvious answer to this problem is to get a different TV stand, but finding one with a 19" opening is not easy, and my wife and I both REALLY like this one.



I'm really drawn toward the look of the small Rotel preamps, but if its audio quality doesn't add up, then it doesn't matter what it looks like.

I'm also going to have the same issue with my CD player. It'll all get fixed when the time comes.

Thanks for the help.