Classe DR-5 & Threshold S/300 Synergy

Rbwinterlink,
I'm curious as to what other pres you've compared the Classe' DR-5 to?

I am using a classe dr6 with the outboard power supply.

I have paired it with a bryston 3bst and it had a lot of detail but seemed kind of "dry" sounding and not very musical.

I am currently running a modded dynaco st70 with the dr6 and along with a pair of quad 11L mini monitors it is very musical and has a huge 3d "live" soundstage.

I have considered trying other amps, but in my small listening room this inexpensive setup has great synergy.

I have listened to several systems that cost 5x what I have in mine and while they might have better extended bass with larger speakers, they were not as engaging as my setup.I would not have traded my system for any of these I heard.

You have an excellent preamp and I would not spend any money trying to upgrade it if it is working perfectly now..... I would spend that money trying a different amp maybe a mccormack dna series or a classe amp.I was shocked at how good this pre sounds with tubes... maybe that could be an option ?

Good Luck

October 4, 2009 (2:45pm)

Good afternoon everyone,

I want to thank each of you for responding here. After reading each comment, I am in agreement that no upgrade need be done. As I've stated before, I am totally happy with the synergy between the Threshold S/300 and my DR-5. The pre-amp and power amp are in great condition presently.

I've just completed a DIY turntable with a seperate motor housing. This is a massive belt driven turntable that weighs in the area of 65 to 75 pounds. I used the platter and bearing from my old Elite Crainfield Rock turntable which had a bad motor. I purchased this turntable back in 1983. The bearing and platter on the Rock is massive. The bearing housing was bolted directly to the new DIY plinth.

Initially, my intentions were to try and refurbish the old Rock. I even called and spoke with Mr. Max Townshend who was of little help. So looking at the old build and bad motor I decided to go the DIY route. I am now waiting for the resting place for my turntable to be build and delived to me.

I purchased and installed a Jelco 750D tonearm and am very impressed with its build and general quality. It looks real good on my new DIY turntable. The arm is 18 grams so it's a little weighty. I will have to be careful regarding the cartridge. I think compliance of 15cu and below is OK. I am leaning towards a low output MC and am thinking Micro Benz Gold or Silver to start. I think that will work OK with the Classe DR-5 and give me plenty of volume (I hope). I love the sound of the Grado Reference, etc, but they don't work well with my Jelco.

I am also using a Parasound C/BD 2000 belt drive CD player. This CD player was made by the CEC folk for Parasound. Recently, the player stopped working (spinning CD's). Its platter turns very slowly then stops. I wonder if a new belt is needed????? Any suggestions where I might send this to be looked at would be great.

Once I relocate to North Carolina I plan to purchase a pair of Magnapan 1,6 or the Eminent Tech Vlll planar speakers with woofer. I have heard the Maggies but not the Eminent Techs. I listen to a lot of classical music to include large scale orchestral and choral works. I also have a sizable jazz collection and love it. Presently, I am using a pair of Mirage OM-9 floor standing speakers. I am using all after-market cables and interconnects.

By the way, the great thing about the Classe DR-5 is that I can install 2 reel to reel tape decks. I am a member of the Tape Project and have a fair amount of reel to reel tapes. I look forward when I can start purchasing tapes for the Tape Project. They are a little out of my price range right now. Your comments please and thank you much.

Bob

I've owned the DR-6 and the DR-5 and a 250watt Threshold S/550-e. Both Classe pieces are beautiful and sound great with the 6 audibly a little cleaner, less noise, more detail, even more subterranean bass which is hard to believe - both are a little warm and dark versus tonally neutral. The DR-6 phono stage is to die for but the 5 isn't bad either. Although I never owned them together, either preamp would complement my Thresold which is a little light of neutral.

I've modified the DR-6 beyond anything anyone's seen here all Black Gates, custom $400 Shallco metal film 32 stepped volume control, new Power supply - the works. It's not quite in the same category as the best today, but very beautiful to listen to and you'd be very happy.

Not without a catch.... These amps are too difficult to modify due to the number of caps and circuit complexity and you'll ruin the beauty of their internal circuit layout - there's no room. Also, some of the parts have been well matched for complementary sound. The Black Beauty film volume pots sounded better than the "all out assault" custom job even though the latter was noticeably more transparent (Wish I had known that before I spent 8 hours building it).

You could find a DR-6 and upgrade the outboard PS caps and use Hexfreds only. Stop there @ 80%+ of all the way, and, instead of stock, you'd have a beauty of a preamp with no down side of wrecking a gorgeous classic piece. That's what I'd do.

After my experiment, I'm sworn to protect all Classes in original condition so watch out!

Oh, and whatever you do don't clean the faceplate with anything - the silk screening is very delicate.

Barrysandy, could you please elaborate on "....Threshold which is a little light of neutral."