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
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brianlucey's avatar
brianlucey OP
155 posts
 
Allmusic.com is your friend @dweller
Looks like a 1968 recording that has been remastered more than once. https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-search-of-the-lost-chord-mw0000650513/credits
jnovak's avatar
jnovak
422 posts
 
I've always thought of producing music and reproducing music as two entirely different things. The later being much more difficult. In the studio, you're in control of the signal from step one. At home we need to assume and attempt to recreate your vision. Yes? Joe
ron1319
57 posts
 
Dweller, why so rude, my man?  Brian’s sharing his opinion based on his system and makes it clear that it’s his experience.  Instead of disputing his claims, you’re just attacking him.  If you have a specific technical question, ask.  But you’re making all kinds of invalid assumptions and you sound like you’re just picking a fight for no reason.  If anything, it just undermines and credibility you think you may have.
lnitm
143 posts
 
Brianlucey, Have you listened to Ayre or Mark Levinson preamps? They are very highly acclaimed and neutral sounding, not adding color to the music.
 I believe Boulder is known for their amps. May be true some companies master amps, others preamps, others DACs. 

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