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Promitheus Ref TVC and RWA Sig 30.2 Power Amp

Hi All,
The itch to upgrade is getting stronger day-by-day and I think I should start by asking this wonderful community, certain questions that I have no idea about.
I do not plan to upgrade everything at once - as budgets do not permit. I currently have the NAD C352 integrated and want to start with the Promitheus Reference TVC preamp. I will use my NAD as a power amp for now. When budgets permit, I plan to get the Red Wine Audio Sig 30.2 Power Amp. This is based purely on the reviews from many people online and also 6moons and other online sites. I am not sure if this amp will be good enough to drive my Quad 21L.

The questions are:
Will the Promitheus and RWA work fine with my Quad 21L speakers?
What should be my expectations after I replace the current preamp section in the NAD with Promitheus Ref TVC? Will the sound step-up be huge or slight?
Is this the right approach, or should I just upgrade to a better integrated amp (like Primare, Creek, Musical Fidelity, etc)?

Thanks much.
milpai
mrjstark
1,112 posts
 
Buy used RWA integrated.
If you need more gain - TVC or CIA passive will do.
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
The source(s) is/are more critical to a TVC, or any passive, than the amp.
milpai's avatar
milpai OP
2,435 posts
 
Dave,
I get your point. But I will have to wait for at least a year to get the RWA, since budgets are routed elsewhere currently.

Mrjstark,
Yes, I m looking at the used market too. Can you please throw some light on the "more gain" part. When it comes to "tech" terminology in the audio world...I m a noob. My concern is I will be going down from 80W/ch to 30W/ch. So will the sound (music) detiorate if I use the RWA 30.2 with the Quad 21L I own? I am really very happy with my Quads and have no intentions to change the speakers. If the RWAs cannot handle the Quads, then I will look at some other amp/preamp combination.

Ngjockey,
My source is the Marantz SA8260 that I am pretty happy with and do not intend to change it in the near future (unless it gives up). Occasionally I will also use an Oppo 970 player.

Thank you guys for your responses.
mingles
800 posts
 
I have a 1st gen Bent TVC with S&B transformers. It's an excellent performer with stellar imaging and transparency. I had a Promitheus about a year ago. Everything about the Bent is better. The Promitheus had a buzz I could never get rid of. The Bent has a better ground design. There's a switch for each channel allowing you to float or ground the output jacks. The Bent also switches positive and negative inputs when the source is changed. This prevents crosstalk and eliminates any ground issues. The Promitheus and Sonic Euphoria have a common ground for inputs which can lead to problems.

Bent just released a new passive using autoformers. I heard it about a month ago and was impressed. In my opinion, autoformers have more bloom than TVCs. TVC's often sound thin in the midbass region. If you do the comparison, you'll know what I mean.

In my experience, the Sonic Euphoria was better sounding than the Promitheus. It had significantly better bass. It also uses autoformers.

FWIW, I think the money you put into a passive would be better spent on your goal of getting an RWA integrated.
milpai's avatar
milpai OP
2,435 posts
 
Hi Mingles,
The Bent also costs much more than the Promitheus. I heard about the buzz in AudioCircles forum, but there were ways to rectify it - and simple ones at that. Right now I cannot spend more than certain $$s on the preamp.
But you got me thinking by making the same point what Dave has mentioned above :-)
Thanks
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