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  3. 151391-4250

Active pre-amp for “difficult” music (fusion)

Some types of music seem to have a good chance of sounding good on a variety of systems. But the jazz/rock fusion (recent recordings) I primarily listen to can be much more difficult to pull off. It is often sonically dense, and busy. There are often many overlaid, high impact, sonic layers competing within similar frequencies. Systems that would make sparse airy music by Norah Jones sound great are easily overwhelmed by fusion. It can become fatiguing, brash or garbled. I think pace, impact and clarity without brashness are more important than soundstage and microscopic detail for this music.

For the system I am building using Tekton Double Impacts and a Classe CA-2200 amp, my inclination was to use a volume controlled DAC (Burson Conductor v1, Swing or WFS DAC-2v2). But Eric Alexander has insisted that an active pre-amp is essential to properly drive a strong class AB amp that is initially class A with punch and impact.

There are many passive or buffered pre-amp recommended for neutrality (without mention of the type of music), but I suppose I’m looking for something that would desirably color the music I will be listening to. What are some active pre-amps that I should consider for this application? I’m thinking of around $1000 on the used market, but could be swayed to spend more.
svenerik
mitch2
4,058 posts
 
@atmasphere 
IME you are better off running the DAC's control all the way up and then using the line stage volume control instead.
I used to believe that too, but you should listen to the Metrum Acoustics Adagio or Jade, or the Empirical Audio® line of DACs, either of which control the volume by adjusting the reference voltage - no lost bits and VC outside the signal path. 
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,888 posts
 
I used to believe that too, but you should listen to the Metrum Acoustics Adagio or Jade, or the Empirical Audio® line of DACs, either of which control the volume by adjusting the reference voltage - no lost bits and VC outside the signal path.
@mitch2 I saw a DAC that did that at RMAF a few years ago. Great idea- and I was excited about it, but the unit gave me a headache. It had been some years since digital stuff gave me a headache (its been getting better and I've been getting older...) so I left the room less than impressed. Sounds like the reference voltage wasn't the issue there. That's a nice approach!
svenerik OP
21 posts
 
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll just need to try a few pre-amps out and see how they sit with me and my system. I had not intended to use a tube line stage, but am intrigued by the Modwright SWL 9.0 or LS100 pre-amps. Any considerations/reservations there with my system?
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,888 posts
 
Since that is a balanced input on your amp, you might check and see if the preamp you are considering supports the balanced line standard (AES48). If yes, the interconnect and input impedance of the amp will be no worries, if no, the interconnect will have to be chosen with care and you should check with the manufacturer if it can drive the input impedance of your amp.
svenerik OP
21 posts
 
@atmasphere The amp has balanced & un-balanced inputs. For Balanced, are you referring to the XLR pin assignments?
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