2. amps-preamps
  3. 136421-89400

Pre amps cost vs. value ... what I discovered last month.

Greetings all.

I’m a mastering engineer. www.magicgardenmastering.com . We use Acoustic Zen balanced cabling, highly modified Cary 211 FE tube amps, Bricasti M1 SE DAs and Joachim Gerhard’s Allegra speakers. TORUS balanced power comes 220 from the street. The room is excellent, and you would love to hear it.

For 15 years the pre amp/router was a Crane Song Avocet. I paid around $1800 for it.

Recently decided to try a couple of audiophile products in the pre amp stage and was shocked and saddened how bad they were. Yes, the studio designed Avocet has a relay click for each 1db step, and yes it has a rack mounted 2U body with a corded remote, but it’s clear folks are really getting taken to the cleaners on pre amps. The older and highly regarded Boulder 1010 (used price $5500), was just terrible, truly terrible. The new and fully broken in BAT vk-43SE (demo price $7500) was much better, but still had a cloudy tone as compared to the class A Avocet. Not sure if that’s the cap or the transformer, but it made everything less clear and more generic, more distant from the music.

That’s all. Happy listening.
128x128brianlucey
brianlucey's avatar
brianlucey OP
153 posts
 
Every record is a journey of creation, and you are hearing all the moments added up in the product, as you can tell.  That is very hard to dissect in an abstract conversation.  There are intentions, and there are results. Intentions vary and skills in getting results vary, wildly.

It’s hard to say anything without hearing a record and talking in specifics. If you heard the mix/master here it would be clear what I do.

I do not mix (panning, dynamics, relative level and EQ, distortion), record (tone, dynamics, distortion), arrange, or write.
Each step has tremendous power: Moment of Inspiration, Arranging, Performance Tracking Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer.
Sure, I make everything better musically and technically (the way you’re talking about it is technical). Thus the career.   More spacious, clear, powerful, detailed, etc. Yet the way I approach mastering is about CONNECTING artists to audience. The tech side are just tools.

soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
While we are on the subject of adding a component between the amp and the speakers.we should not downplay the adverse affects of the crossover....All those electronic elements blocking the audio path.
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
@soundsrealaudio   Often true about adding a crossover and how it can "cloud-up" the sound.  Richard Vandersteen's M5-HP remarkably results in better overall sound as using the powered Vandy subwoofer relieves the main system amp of having to do so resulting in more open, dynamic system sound.  The only rub is the cost, but it is well worth shelling out about a grand for them.  They really are that good!😁
brianlucey's avatar
brianlucey OP
153 posts
 
Very true @soundsrealaudio

I'm having my speaker crossovers upgraded (same design, better parts) for the cost of the speakers themselves.
A lot of parts in many crossovers.
jim94025
57 posts
 
Brian,  while a bit off subject, could you give a general description of what modifications you made to your 211‘s? I’ve just received a pair and would be quite curious to know where you went with them. Looking at your discussions and your body of work I would say our tastes in music reproduction are quite close. 
Thanks, Jim
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