If you’re ok with solid state, the Anthem STR preamp often sells used for ~2500. It’s 100% transparent and has room correction and bass management built in. No component upgrade has come close to the improvement in sound quality that room correction and proper subwoofer integration gave me.
seeking recommendations for a preamp
I've been lurking a while, but this is my first post. I will appreciate any advice given, and thank you for reading this.
My Kenwood C2 bit the dust. I have lost the right channel, and the input selector is also going out. I'm looking to replace it, and upgrade quite a bit. The wife has given me a $2500 budget, new or used is ok. I listen to Vinyl a lot, as well as my echo dot which is also plugged into my preamp with a headphone to RCA adapter. I'll list my other equipment now.
Completely rebuilt Altec A7-500 with all new parts from GPA
JBL L200s
Kenwood M1D amplifier
Homebrew rebuilt Monoblocks from Zenith consoles with EL84/6BQ5
Yamaha EQ
Thorens TD 318 with an Ortofon cart. Unsure which one as I am at work
SVS PB16 ultra
The room is 16 wide by 20 deep. I primarily listen to the Altecs and tube amps with the SVS sub taking up the slack in the bass from the A7s. Sometimes I listen to the JBLs driven by the Kenwood M1D. I notice that the echo dot sounds a lot better than my turntable, so I know I must be needing a better phono stage. I've tried swapping out turntables with a couple of Dual 1229s with Shure M97XE carts that Bill at fixmydual has gone through thoroughly so It's not isolated to my Thorens. I guess I' surprised that the $30 Echo Dot sounds so much better.
I admit I don't have the best cables, and will upgrade those as I can. I feel like the preamp is the heart of the system so I want to make a good choice. I love Macintosh, based purely off emotion, but don't know if it's the best choice for my situation. I do not have a local shop to audition, and none of my friends are into audio. What preamps should I be looking at ??
My Kenwood C2 bit the dust. I have lost the right channel, and the input selector is also going out. I'm looking to replace it, and upgrade quite a bit. The wife has given me a $2500 budget, new or used is ok. I listen to Vinyl a lot, as well as my echo dot which is also plugged into my preamp with a headphone to RCA adapter. I'll list my other equipment now.
Completely rebuilt Altec A7-500 with all new parts from GPA
JBL L200s
Kenwood M1D amplifier
Homebrew rebuilt Monoblocks from Zenith consoles with EL84/6BQ5
Yamaha EQ
Thorens TD 318 with an Ortofon cart. Unsure which one as I am at work
SVS PB16 ultra
The room is 16 wide by 20 deep. I primarily listen to the Altecs and tube amps with the SVS sub taking up the slack in the bass from the A7s. Sometimes I listen to the JBLs driven by the Kenwood M1D. I notice that the echo dot sounds a lot better than my turntable, so I know I must be needing a better phono stage. I've tried swapping out turntables with a couple of Dual 1229s with Shure M97XE carts that Bill at fixmydual has gone through thoroughly so It's not isolated to my Thorens. I guess I' surprised that the $30 Echo Dot sounds so much better.
I admit I don't have the best cables, and will upgrade those as I can. I feel like the preamp is the heart of the system so I want to make a good choice. I love Macintosh, based purely off emotion, but don't know if it's the best choice for my situation. I do not have a local shop to audition, and none of my friends are into audio. What preamps should I be looking at ??
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- 49 posts total
- 49 posts total