Picked up a used W4S STP-ES preamp

pearsall001
pearsall001 Posts: 5,218
in 2 Channel Audio
So far so good. I was hesitant about trying another pre because my previous units did nothing to tickle my fancy & I resold them all. Now this one is definitely got my attention & the HT Bypass feature is great & simple to use. It's only been a few days of listening but I am enjoying it's musical presentation. Fingers crossed.
"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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Comments

  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,978
    Awesome!! Enjoy!!!
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,728
    Anything in particular stand out, musically, that you ended up liking about this unit so far?

    I've always been curious of W4S stuff, just have yet to get ears on it.
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,218
    Upstatemax wrote: »
    Anything in particular stand out, musically, that you ended up liking about this unit so far?

    I've always been curious of W4S stuff, just have yet to get ears on it.

    To my surprise it has a very seductive way of making you want to just keep on listening. It presents a well defined soundstage, making my 1.7i's seem even larger. Those attributes were made quite clear right from the gitgi. I'm still picking up other attributes from music I'm very familiar with. All in all my first impressions are very, very promising and coming from tubes I'm impressed.
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,441
    edited October 2024
    Glad to hear you are enjoying it. I bought mine over 2 years ago after a 4+ month absence of any real preamp in my system. At that time, I was using the variable output from my DAC, so it was a huge improvement, but I didn't have any preamps to compare. (Others were long sold while I spent several years with an Integrated)
    I think the reason this preamp works well is because he designed it with a nice discrete buffer circuits on either side of the ladder attenuator. It takes away any chance of impedance mismatch and basically has no gain in the circuit until you get the volume up pretty high (like above 64 I think). I've never had mine above 45.

    Post edited by billbillw on
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  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,978
    I haven't listened to mine in a couple years, I should pull it out soon.. :p
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,218
    Well it's been a few months now with the STP-SE preamp in my system & it really has been quite enjoyable. I've had a few pre's roll in & out but none have been as enjoyable as this guy.

    The music just seems to float & hover in the room with an exceptional soundstage. I wouldn't say it's warm sounding or analytical but it simply sounds "right" with all types of music. It is by far the most revealing pre to date with fantastic instrument placing, vocals that are simply surreal & ever so pleasant on the ears. Every listening session has me glued to my chair with a big smile on my face.

    Now I'm sure the DAC plays a part but I had the same DAC with all pre's. It just plays very well with my gear. The HT bypass is also an exceptional feature.



    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,441
    edited February 28
    Your description is just about how I would describe the last two+ years listening to mine, but I was unsure for some time because I had spentbalmost 10 years with an integrated amp prior to the STP-SE.
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,218
    Are you using the HT Bypass? Makes it super easy running a combo system.
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,441
    pearsall001 wrote: »
    Are you using the HT Bypass? Makes it super easy running a combo system.

    No, mine is in a dedicated 2ch setup. Maybe when I downsize, I'll combine things. Nice to know it has the capability though.
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