Thanks for your input, John. My experience in listening to preamps is not recent. I've had mine for over 12 years, and back then I did compare it to Classe, Bryston, Rowland, and others. Back then I found the Classe preamps to be a bit warmer and darker than mine, while the Bryston was harder and more forward. I don't know how much a company's sonic signature changes over the years, so I'm wondering if you would categorize your CP-60 as either warm or dark.
Help finding used SS with unity gain, $1K - $1.5K
I'm looking for suggestions on something nice in a SS preamp in the listed price range. It must have a unity gain output and a good phono stage; also, dual outputs to the power amp are desired, but not critical. Same for remote.
To help in the recommendations, I am currently using a Bedini 866 into an 803 amp. For those of you who are not familiar with this preamp, it gives me a natural, but not warm or soft, musical reproduction, with great extension in the high end, a fine natural midrange, and very good low end. It does not project a tremendously wide soundstage (in that regard I think it could be better), but does have good depth. It produces a very good sense of space around the instruments or voices... produces a very good "the music is in the room" quality without being forward or etched. Detail retrieval is very good (but maybe not great).
What I'm looking for is a used preamp with the desired qualities, that has a similar musical character - but hopefully can better it to some degree. I do not want a tube preamp. While I love what many tube preamps can do, one thing I do not want to do is get into the endless maze of tube rolling. Picking interconnects is bad enough! I'm looking for a natural sound with clarity and extension in both the upper and lower end, but not to a point of being the sort of neutral that quickly translates into "cool" and uninvolving.
Oh, I also will be keeping my Bedini amp, so anyone who knows of a match to it with a great used preamp is welcome to join in!
To help in the recommendations, I am currently using a Bedini 866 into an 803 amp. For those of you who are not familiar with this preamp, it gives me a natural, but not warm or soft, musical reproduction, with great extension in the high end, a fine natural midrange, and very good low end. It does not project a tremendously wide soundstage (in that regard I think it could be better), but does have good depth. It produces a very good sense of space around the instruments or voices... produces a very good "the music is in the room" quality without being forward or etched. Detail retrieval is very good (but maybe not great).
What I'm looking for is a used preamp with the desired qualities, that has a similar musical character - but hopefully can better it to some degree. I do not want a tube preamp. While I love what many tube preamps can do, one thing I do not want to do is get into the endless maze of tube rolling. Picking interconnects is bad enough! I'm looking for a natural sound with clarity and extension in both the upper and lower end, but not to a point of being the sort of neutral that quickly translates into "cool" and uninvolving.
Oh, I also will be keeping my Bedini amp, so anyone who knows of a match to it with a great used preamp is welcome to join in!
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- 9 posts total
- 9 posts total