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old high end preamps..

Proceed AVP  Cary Cinema 11   Bryston SP1.7



I have had all but the Cary. which do you think would sound best for music in 2.1 ? I have the Bryston now. cant really find any flaw in it except I cant tell where volume is with lights down and screen is hard to read from 6ft away. Bryston sounds good.
I am actually getting a Cary Cinema 11 this week. I know if a recapped AVP . I like the looks of either of these over the Bryston.
gentlejax
chorus
976 posts
 
Is all the CJ stuff out?

k5d's avatar
k5d
18 posts
 
Getting a Perreaux from ‘85 fully restored. Should have it back next week. 
richopp
760 posts
 
I purchased a used ARC SP-6 for my system recently and am amazed how much better it is than the fairly-well regarded Luxman CL-32 I had been using.

Also, it was CHEAP, and I am poor, so it was a great sonic addition to my system.  

I have no experience with Bryston other than the original amps, and they were pretty good.

Cheers!
whiteknee
49 posts
 
I have a Mac C33 (ss) that I purchased new in 1984.  Still sounds great and offers fun and flexibility to experiment with various speakers and room configs.  Not appreciably better or worse than my 2 year old Primaluna DiaLogue (vt).
pesky_wabbit's avatar
pesky_wabbit
1,183 posts
 
maybe an ALPS pot or stepped attenuator.
Just avoid using the ubiquitous ALPS Blue like the plague, or if you must use it with a shunt resistor.

Reviewers tend to remark on their presence in a preamp as a big plus (probably because they are made by ALPS, look good and they have never actually compared them to anything else), and their mythical status has thus prevailed.

Get a Stepped attenuator, or buy a TKD, Audionote or even a decent carbon (eg Tocos or ALPS) pot instead.

The old ALPS Black and Noble pots were actually quite good but sadly are no longer available.
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