Preamp vs Av receiver preouts
So I have a pretty good setup going on for myself, but my weak point is still my receiver on the music side of things (I use it for HT but I'm talking stereo right now). I have the Martin Logan ESLs, a 15" rythmik sub, yamaha aventage rxa-1060, Anthem mca225 hooked to the preouts of the yamaha (and a splitter to connect the sub L/R), and a schiit modi+. Would a separate preamp make much difference instead of the preouts on the receiver even though I use the yamaha in pure direct mode or is it not worth the addition? And if so what ballpark preamp are we talking to make said difference? Something like the parasound zpre3 looked interesting to me, but I haven't heard a separate preamp in a system before and don't know what difference it would make. I can't do much more in terms of room treatment in my room either. Thanks in advance!
@sgoods555 the RP1 is a modern tube design. There’s no tube rush/hiss. I had no issues with it playing anything from string quartets to Slayer, Metallica and everything in between. It will be a very nice jump in quality of sound from your AVR. If you pick one up used at a great deal, you can try it in your own system and if you don’t like it, flip it at no loss. Also, when I had the RP1 my speakers were Martin Logan Montis. |
I recommend adding the preamp if you have room. I run a Parasound P6. Pre outs from a Denon 4700 receiver to the bypass input on the P6. And the AVR sub out to the sub bypass on the P6. All stereo inputs go straight into the P6. If I need HT input, just flip the P6 input to Bypass. I do a lot of TV viewing on mute with stereo running. This configuration works great, assuming you have the available real estate. |
@sgoods555 My Home Theater and 2 channel occupy the same space. Getting a separate Pre will elevate your 2 channel music listening. I have Anthem’s 1140 receiver, before that Marantz top tier receiver, neither cheap but adding a separate Pre made a big difference. A pre with HT bypass is a great convenient feature but if you go with a Tube Pre you’ll likely have to have the Pre on when using your HT set up, you’ll be burning hours on your tubes. A better solution is a high quality switch box that will allow you to switch between the 2, keeps things separate. Plenty of options on what you can snag for a Pre. Good Luck! |
