Pass x250, Talon Khoruses , what now ?


hi y'all..
i got a decent deal on a new pass labs x250 to drive my
beloved talon khoruses, i got a half way decent rega planet 2000 cd player, wish it was balanced, and now i'm
out of money and in need of a pre amp, i can spend up to a grand, any recommendations? how about a tube pre amp?
i hear that the combination of a ss amp and a tube pre amp
can sometimes b fantastic.. is there anything fantastic for that kind of money out there, used or not ?
thanks in advance,
David
dave4u
Hi David, good for you for getting rid of the 300i, I love Krell myself but somehow I think you made the right choice on getting the Pass Labs amp for your Khorus speakers.Something tells me that the Pass and Talon Khorus will have a better synergy than the Krell and Talon Khorus combo.

Now for the preamp, since your budget is around $1000 maybe a used Sonic Frontiers Line 1 or BAT VK-3i, the reasons I suggested these two were due to the fact that they both have balanced outputs, which in turn will work well with your Pass Labs amp.

Happy Hunting.
For a little over your budget the Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 is an excellent pre-amp and should work well with the Pass amp.
I agree that BAT may be a good choice, but if you could utilize a passive pre such as one of the placette units I am sure it would do a very nice job.

BTW I've only heard the Khoruses with a 75wpc OTL amp and they were amazing, I can't imagine the detail and sheer dynamics they much have with a larger solid state. ~Tim
I'm guessing but I would stick with a bare-bones solid state unit for that price range. High-end tube pre's may be one thing but usually low-end tubes will be something else. And if it's used, you may need to soonish re-tube which could set you back another $100 to $600.

The Placette passive may be an excellent choice and I believe you have a 30 day money back option there.

You may want to investigate the Odyssey Temptest pre for $995 at OdysseyAudio.com. Their amps are supposed to be fabulous and their pre may be cut from the same cloth.
Speak to stewart of SOS he knows more about pass labs equipment with talon speakers then just about anyone else out there. I'm sure he will know just what you need. You could also try running direct (the new shanling looks nice) and sell your rega.... I have talons too and love em as well... hope this helps ... =)