Bought powerful/expensive Amp+Speakers but plan to use an old preamp , am I crazy?


Please hear me out.

I got back into the hi-fi game after a hiatus and chanced upon some gear I have always wanted, for a great price, so I jumped on it... which resulted in no budget left for a pre-amp!

Purchased gear, yet to arrive:
Amp: McIntosh MC-452
Speakers: Paradigm Persona 3F

Sources that I already own:
Analog: Linn Sondek LP12
Digital : Oppo UDP203 / Bluenode 2i

 

I have an old NAD-1155 Pre-Amp lying around that i simply love!! It has one of the best phono stages I have come across among all the pre-amps I’ve owned. So I’m hoping I can use the NAD as an interim arrangement, before I can save up for a better pre-amp.

My question is rather simplistic, would the NAD cause any problems when paired with the Big MAC, in terms of compatibility and/or sonic abilities?

Besides it being a dirt cheap component (relatively speaking), nothing tells me it can’t be used, but I need someone to chime in and tell me I’m not being too naive or optimistic!

 

Edit: Link to the Preamp - https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/nad/1155.shtml

 

bugsnest

good to go... i think... :)

I’ll go with this one, given my situation 😄
 

 

sure, so long as you view it as a stop gap measure - nothing’s going to blow up and you’re going to get music, you’re just not going to really hear what the rest of your gear can do.

NAD will be fine but I'd be looking for another amp! 452 looks good but I've heard it many times and just not musical IMHO.