2. amps-preamps
  3. 170311-161955

Love my new amp and pre-amp

Several months ago I got the itch to upgrade my hifi system and it's turned out so well (imho) that I thought I'd write a short post.  I'm not going to try and write a critical review of the different pieces because I lack both the experience and the requisite reference gear.  But I know what I like...and will simply share that I really, really like where things have ended up.  My speakers are Paradigm Persona 5F's.  I think they're amazing.  My amp is the Electrocompaniet AW 250R and my pre-amp is the Manley Neo Classic 300b.  What a great combination.  I had a chance to speak to an audio design engineer the other day that does warranty work on EC products.  He had a lot of really good things to say about EC's design and build quality.  And while I can't really compare the Manley to other similarly priced tube pre-amps I can say that it's really added a completely new dimension to my system.  Dynamics, air, seperation...all in spades.  My primary source is a Lampizator Amber 3 DAC.  I love it.   So there you go...if anyone is interested to hear more I'd love to trade stories.  Also I'd like to quickly thank Dave at Audio Intellect for the great recommendations and service.  It has been a real pleasure..
bh123
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
8,007 posts
 
That's a wonderful pre. Good Luck.
yyzsantabarbara
4,873 posts
 
I do like the Persona 5F.  I heard it with SimAudio 860 amps which are not really the proper amps for the 5F. Nevertheless, the speakers did sound pretty good with these amps. 

The  OP's new gear is likely a great way go on the Persona. I think the warm KRELL K-300i integrated would also sound nice with the 5F. I have the KRELL and have thought about pairing it with the 5F. 
benzman's avatar
benzman
412 posts
 
I have the 5f’s also. Put them on Townshend Podiums and you will go to another level. Sounds like you have the right synergy going. 
bh123 OP
14 posts
 
Thanks, everyone, for the support and ideas.  I have the feeling I have a pretty nice setup but probably you'll know what I mean when I say it's hard to tell how much better it can get.  I thought I had kind of hit the limit of what my gear could do...I've got a Persona sub that definitely adds a dimension.  I've also got nice interconnects and speaker cables.  So I was thinking I was pretty set...then my hifi guy suggested I swap out the SOVTEK 6SL7 tubes in the input stage of my preamp for a set of Tung Sol SL7's.  I can tell you that was 100 bucks well spent.  I'm tempted to play with the EH 300b tubes but man a nice set of 300b's are not cheap.  Anyway I've yet to play with things like power cords or dampening systems or really anything to do with room acoustics.  I guess it will be a journey...I continue to read and learn.  I wish there was a bit more clarity around things like power cords, etc..but I've seen enough threads now to know I'll have to decide for myself.  I'm sure I'll get around to it at some point...


ghdprentice
7,022 posts
 
😃😊👍

Take your time. Get to completely know the sound of your system and let it fully break in. All my Audio Research gear is supposed to take 600 hours of use to break in. While most of the real obvious change was over the first 250 hours… I did notice it continued to 600. Then I noticed more subtitle changes over the next 400. I had heard othe people mention this… but had not noticed before. When you really know the sound of your system and it is at a high level of performance small differences can be really obvious. This is when you want to take off your gloves and do tweaking. 
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