Recommend a Used Solid State Preamp for About $5k
Here's a SS passive pre that may challenge your Ref2: the Music First Passive Magnetic Preamplifie. If you do investigate this unit please be sure to report your findings; it sounds intriguing. BTW it costs far less than your price but that does not mean it's not a contender; check out that review. |
Nsgarch.....as you can see, I'm stedily creeping up the high end ladder....so yes I am going to get a pair of Pass X-600's to see how much they eclipse the four bi-amped Carver monoblocks in power, control and sonic purity. If they don't eclipse the Carvers by a mile, I'll sell the Pass monos for what I paid for them. I can always use the Carvers for my home theater setup. The best solid state preamp I've had was the Audio Research LS-10. When it was good..it was awesome. But on some recordings, it was missing a lot of information on music that I was very familiar with and that was very unsatisfying and it just annoyed the hell out of me to listen to a piece of music and it all wasn't there. Half of my recordings sounded awful on it. I have $5k in my budget to try a used solid state pre to compare to the Ref 2. I'm not selling my Ref2 just yet. I want to compare it to a solid state unit in its price range to see if I like it. The Ref2 has been excellent across the board, but I have never heard it compared to a solid state unit in its price range.....I just might like it better. Nor have I heard the Ref2 with amps higher up the food chain...like the Pass monos. Audiogon gives me the luxury to audition stuff and not get hurt too bad when I need to sell it if I decide not to keep it. No offense taken about the Signal Cables, I know they can be improved upon. With a limited budget, my first priority has been with the preamp, now amps, then cables. I'm never offended by the stuff I have....I go as far as my budget takes with me and I have to be content. But, I do keep meticulous notes of suggestions like yours, ...so when I get the dough and it's time to upgrade, I can refer to suggestions like yours when making my decision. So, thank you sir. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. |
Well Mitch, with the Pass(s) and the Kappas and the ARC preamp, I'd say you'll have a very synergistic system. What I meant with my comments about the SS preamp, was that your ARC preamp is already a pretty elevated piece of equipment, so if you want to make a fair comparison, you'll have to spend some money on a SS preamp. More than $4-6K IMO. But frankly, I think you're going to love the tube/SS combo. |
