Well the passive I first used was a luminous axiom and while the midrange was strong and powerful everything else was lacking. Bass was there but lacked any punch. So the phono pre I am running is the newer model by Shannon parks and 46db of gain the older model is only 38. A buddy of mine has one and I switched it out this afternoon and all the fowardness was gone. I already sent my Schiit Freya back but wish I would have held onto it a little longer as I should have thought to switch out phono pre’s to a lesser gain. Im thinking now I can start moving forward with better answers. Thanks for everyone’s input!
Preamp help for First Watt J2/ZU Omens combo
Hi, I'm an all analog guy. Just a turntable with a phono pre. I bought a First Watt J2 a couple of months ago and can't seem to find the right preamp. My speakers are high efficiency ZU Audio Omen Mk2's. I tried a luminous audio axiom passive and while the midrange would blow you away not much else was there. I also tried a Schiit Freya which comes with a passive and tube side....passive side real weak and the tube side is like drinking from a fire hydrant. It's detailed but really in your face and forward. Very fatiguing. The people with Pass/First Watt all say a PASS preamp will do the trick like an older X-1 or the like but those are expensive still and kinda out of my budget right now. Plus, buying used there is not much of a return policy if it doesn't work out. Trying to keep it $1000 or less. But, it needs to sound right too so If I need to jump up I could. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Just as another option, you may want to look at Mapletree Audio preamplifiers. They are beautifully built and very reasonably priced. You can also specify the gain if you order one new and are willing to wait a few weeks. Aric Audio is another shop where you can have one built to order. Both are all tube all hand made units and can be upgraded as much as your budget allows. I have one of Aric's preamps and really like its sound. |
I use First Watt B1 (buffer preamp) for my First Watt F2J (current source) power amp. My speakers are Zu Druid (101db) and while the power amp is less than 5 watt, i use only 10-20% of the volume control (in my big living room) on FW b1 with my phono preamps. Out of curiosity i’ve bought another preamp (Pass Labs Aleph L, latest version which is passive if the volume control is 3 o’clock, it became active only if the volume control is more than 3 o’clock). |
I haven't gotten to try mine yet (it's coming next week), but you might investigate the hornshoppe "the truth" pre. It's at your price point, with a 30 day trial period. Various threads around, and a detailed review at: http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Linestages.html#ClA |
Your amplifier is balanced, so a preamp that drives a balanced output would be a good place to start. Given the distortion character of the amp, which is very good, I'd go with a tube preamp but finding a balanced one in your price range might be a bit of a challenge. To really take advantage of balanced operation, the preamp at the very least should support the balanced standard, aka AES48. Well the passive I first used was a luminous axiom and while the midrange was strong and powerful everything else was lacking. Bass was there but lacked any punch.This is a common complaint with passives. |
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