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Analogue only preamp ideas? - no need for internal DAC!

So making progress in my quest for perfection.

have a great dac, Chord Tt2
great amp Mcintosh great speakers, B&W 804 D3And a Roon Nucleus.

but I have a subpar avr,

An analogue only preamp seems ideal and so many have a standalone dac, so analogue preamp seems a good idea.

Mcintosh has some units that seem quite nice, eg C70 tube.  Seems tube is a great way to go but tubeless has pros too.

Need some ideas. Thanks




emergingsoul
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Why do you need a preamp? The TT2 has volume control. 
emergingsoul OP
1,182 posts
 
Because my avr is now sharing stereo and ht duties, and would like to pursue better SQ for stereo with convenience of a home theater bypass feature, which seems only possible with a stereo preamp.


oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
Never go wrong with a Mac. BUT that is an expensive jump for sure..
Never heard a C70, I own a few of Macs other preamps, though.
Wonderful gear and it’s a Mac.. plane and simple...
The C70 has no Dac? hmmm!

Regards
mahler123
3,373 posts
 
Have you posed this question in the amplifier forum?
I haven’t bought a preamp in a while.  I have a tubed Cary Preamp which I like to pair with a Parasound JC power amp that drives my B&W 803Ds.  I like the depth of soundstage and sense of air around the instruments and the enhanced colors of the Orchestral instruments compared to my Parasound Solid State preamp, but the Parasound JC preamp is really quiet and controls the lowest end bass a bit better.
  Defining a budget would help.  Audio Research came out with a new preamp but 15K may be more than your budget.  Vincent, Rouge Audio,Prima Luna make tubed pre amps in the 1.5-3K range.  
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