What is a good amp to pair with Hovland HP-100


Greetings all,

I'm starting to do research for a system upgrade and am pretty sure I want to check out the Hovland HP-100 preamp based on its excellent reviews. I would enjoy any suggestions or experience members may have with amplifiers (tube or solid in the same approximate price range) that they feel are a good match. I'm currently using a Unison Research Unico, so this will be a huge step up in performance for me. My turntables are Oracle Alexandria and Kenwood L-07D, speakers are Vandersteen 2ce (and will likely be upgraded as well).

I look forward to your opinions!

Regards,

rickk
rickk
I have the Hovland, and am enjoying it with VTL MB-450 monoblocks. Here is some information from a Stereophile review what may be useful regarding impedence matching:

"The Hovland’s line stage didn’t invert absolute polarity. Its input impedance was a usefully high 100kohms in the midrange and bass, with just a small reduction to a still-high 86kohms at 20kHz. Despite the claim that the HP-100 uses a cathode follower output stage, its source impedance was high at 2.4k ohms, rising to 4.3k ohms at 20Hz. The partnering power amplifier would best have an input impedance of at least 47k ohms if the bass is not to sound lean."

Also, if you are buying used, you may want to be aware that some of the volume controls used in original building are starting to ware out, and replacement costs a bit of $$. You should definitely inquire as to whether there are any abnormalities to the volume control. Mine was fine. I just sent it to Hovland, they checked it out - they did do a power supply upgrade that made some subtle, positive improvements.

Alex at Hovland is one of the nicest guys you're going to meet in Audio, and he will work with you for whatever support you need. You can call him with a serial number, and get the lowdown on a preamp you are considering.

Best, Peter
PS Rickk - I think you're working in reverse order here. I think you should decide what speakers you like, then what amp works best with them, and finally choose the preamp. The preamp makes a huge difference, but I wouldn't recommend locking yourself in to a preamp/amp synergy until you've chosen your speakers.

Good luck! All the Best, Peter
Agree with Peter_s - not all preamps work well with all amps and you would not want to lock yourself into a preamp-amp combination by choice of the preamp.

I would ask the question: What good amp to pair with the 2CE ad then find a matching preamp....