2. amps-preamps
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Personal Preamp Evolution

I found the the threads on the amplifier evolution very intriguing,the speaker evolution thread as well .I am not sure if there is already a thread regarding preamps.Many of us failed to mention their preamps[myself included] in the amplifier thread.After all, it really is an amplifier per say.
1967...Dyna pas 2 from a kit
1974...Dayton wright spa
1975...Mark Levinson JC-2
1976...Audio Research SP-3
1977... Van Alistine mods on Sp-3a,removed tone controls etc
1981...Audio Research Sp-6a
1982... revised to sp-6b
1983...traded back to the Audio Research sp-3a and modded further
1976..Audio Research Sp-10,revised to 10b[still in use]
1990...MFA Luminescence B[still my reference]
1996...ARC sp-8 mk2,Cat SL1 signature MK2
2000...DIY line stage,tube rectified,6sn-7gt's for gain.
2002 to present...Supratek Syrah,

ecclectique
siliab
362 posts
 
1. Preamp section of Panasonic Mini-Receiver (found in just about every dentist's office in the early 70s)
2. Preamp section of Pilot 25 wpc integrated solid state amp
3. Preamp section of Yamaha CR620 receiver
4. Nakamichi 620 Tuner/Preamp (Slanted panel with gigantic tuning dial...coolest looking piece of equipment ever)
5. Hafler DH101 kits - several bought, built, modified and sold.
6. conrad-johnson PV3 - bought, built and modified extensively (great sounding unit)
7. conrad-johnson PV2ar
8. Beard P505 - luscious
9. Spectral DMC10delta - wonderful
10. Wright Sound Lab WPL20 - supremo

All have been used primarily for use with phono sources. The last two have been oustanding in this regard. The last is equally facile with digital sources.
sheffb
64 posts
 
HK Citation 11 - 1970
Naim Preamp -1975
ML 1 -1977
ML 10 -1982
Pass X2 -2002
Pass X2.5 -2003
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Just to update the list:

Pre section of Pioneer SA-9500-II
Yamaha C-4
Rotel 910 ?
PS Audio 4.6 with the large ps
Adcom GFP-565
Audio Research LS8 Mk 2
Audio Research LS 25 with Amperex NOS tubes
moonrat
6 posts
 
Advent 300 Receiver using preamp section (wow)

Apt Holman (read all the hype and fell for it)

Back to Advent 300 Receiver (it sounded better)

PS Audio 6.1 passive preamp (big improvement but still not there yet)

Conrad Johnson PV 12AL (Now that's music happy at last!)
fetguy
90 posts
 
1980 Audible Illusions mini-mite
1982 Audible Illusions (new model of what was really the mini-mite)
1983 Yamaha C2
1984 PS Audio (concurrent with C2 and tubed pres)
1985 Superphon (ditto)
1989 Forte (Great harmonics, detail filter)
1992 Van Alstine Pas 4
1999 Onkyo P-304 (ridiculously good for the money, got it new for $129...MSR was $600)
2000 Threshold NS-10 ($30 at pawn shop, blown power caps. $10.59 to fix. Great pre,especially when put on the lab power-supply.)
2003 Bryston BP25, 1.5 phono (ultra-quiet and better musicality than all the tubes I put it against YMMV. Not the last word in high-freq dynamics.)
2003 Spectral DMC30S (Oh yeah, baby! Dynamics,extention, mids...pretty much everything.)
2003 Using the built-in preamp on the 390S (Awesome with right cables...and nothing else to switch. Will take in other digital sources though.)
More to discover