Changes to older system

I replaced a sold state preamp with a tube preamp and it really made a huge difference (Parasound P3 to Schiit Audio Freya Plus) The bass and soundstage opened up and the sound is more organic. Whatever tube amp you decide upon (if you do) make sure you have the ability to add a subwoofer. In fact if you were to decide upon a unit like the Freya, It would leave you plenty of cash to add a sub or even try new speakers. There are may choices in the $1K to $2K price range that would be killer. Zu, Tekton Design, KLH, Klipsch, Vandersteen come to mind. I added new speakers to a second audio system, Tekton Double Impact SE and they knock my socks off with 28 watts per side.

@2psyop glad to hear your experience with the Freya+, definitely one I’m considering. 

At the risk of losing any credibility I may have ever had among “serious” audiophiles, I’ve had some fun playing around with two items from Parts Express on this system as proofs of concept on adding in tubes:

- FX Audio Tube-03 Tube Preamp - Lots of stuff on the interwebs about this one, so for under $50 as a proof of concept, why not?

- Dayton Audio HTA20BT - My GF says, “you just love that little amp,” and she’s right! I got it for under $150 for a kitchen system, so again, why not try it out?

Either way, in the world of audio equipment, both seem to illustrate that two wrongs - bright metal dome tweeters and even cheap tube gear with rolled off highs - can and do, in fact, make a right. I prefer both of them to the NAD gear, especially on the highs. I can only imagine how good the 2200PE would sound with a good tube preamp like the Freya+, so I’m still looking.

I’m so conflicted about keeping or getting rid of the Matrix 3s. Placing them as @jasonbourne52 recommended helped mitigate the highs. Tube preamp recommendations make sense. I’ve heard the NAD 2200PE sound awesome with them with the right preamp. I’ve always thought the 1600 preamp - although good - was the weakest link. I don’t think I’d get much for the Matrix 3s, and given they were a $4K speaker in the day, I have to believe with the right equipment - changing out for a tube preamp - would be more cost efficient on this system.

I’ve been listening to the Auralic Altair G1, NAD 2200PE, and the Zu ODWs, and it sounds pretty damn good now to me. Added a Musical Fidelity X10-D tube buffer, which I believe improved the highs and the dynamics. At a minimum it was a good impedance matched. Consequently, I’m thinking even more that adding a good tube preamp with a high-quality analog volume control instead of the buffer is the way to go next.