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It’s time to upgrade my pre-amp

A strange thing happened to me at the start of Covid.  I could not bare to listen to most music other than jazz, primarily post 50‘s jazz.  I’m not asking for psychological assistance, but …this journey has led me down the never tiring, wonder filled analog road and that has caused my close family and friends to wonder.   

I built and own a Dynaco ST-70, Dynaco ST-35 and an Elekit TU-8600S with all of the upgrades including the Lindahl transformers.  The Elekit is my amp of choice. My thinking was, what better way to learn to listen to jazz than on the equipment it was designed to be listened to when originally recorded.

Today I am in need of a pre-amplifier that will support my current amplifiers, as well as, higher wattage tube and possibly digital amps in the future. For the time being, I’m sticking with highly efficient speakers.  As I mentioned in a previous post, my turntable is an Acoustic Signature Tornado Neo with a Hana ML cartridge and GoldNote PS10+PSU10 phono stage and separate power supply.  

My listening space is rather large 22 x 40 and my goal is to listen at low to moderate sound levels while maintaining clarity, detail and the experience of being inside the music space.

Thank you ahead of time.

goodnightpaul
pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

@goodnightpaul as an aside, I did not listen to too much Jazz or CD prior to being loaned one of a friends built versions (they have four versions in total).

Jazz was used on Vinyl at a few demonstrations on other systems owned within the Group. I now have approx' 20 Albums purchased over a reasonably short periods, with the last one being a Crowd Funded one I discovered on this forum and only arrived at my address very recently.

As for CD's I went from a small batch of in car CD's to a collection of a few hundred in a similar timeline.

I am having a Four Chassis Monoblock Balanced Korg B1 built for myself, the Parts list is now complete and purchases have started. The Volume controls are Bespoke Built to meet the requirements of this design (not cheap), but I am hoping such accuracy is the attention to design that sets it apart.

This will most likely be out on loan for a while, as I am without a set up system, it is ready to go into storage.

A friend is slowly going Balanced from Bespoke Built Tonearm > Head Amp' > Phon' > Pre - Amp > Power Amp', my Balanced version will fit in nicely in this system for a period of time, along side their own Balanced version, the A/B comparison will be looked forward to. 

    

solypsa's avatar
solypsa
462 posts
 

@goodnightpaul 

 

it means the elukit needs far less signal to reach 'full output' than the ST70, like 1/4 as much. There is more to it of course but lets just say a preamp with 0 db gain might be just fine with the Elukit but maybe not so great with the ST70....as far as gain goes anyways

goodnightpaul OP
8 posts
 

Thank you for the explanation of the signal stength.  Perhaps it’s wise to consider purchasing a pre-amp that will suit several different amp styles.  You never know, I might find myself with a S/S amp in my future, as well as the tubes.

burtlake
43 posts
 

Just researched the Elekit myself and most of their forums recommend running it without a preamp (contrary to the general consensus in other general threads here). As mentioned you don’t need gain so maybe a passive switch box is all you need? Either way, recommend trying before you buy. 

goodnightpaul OP
8 posts
 

Yes, it is possible to run the Elekit without a pre-amp.  I believe the volume control was built in so headphones could be used.  Your recommendation about trying before buying is great advice.  

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