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CA Azur 840E preamp or Vincent SA-T8 for MC402 ?

Hello,
I am a bit new/naive in the audiophile world, and definitely need some advice and feedback on what can be done to improve the musicality of my equipment.
I bought a MC402 a few months ago, and am still trying to get the "wow" out of my equipment- So far i still think the treble is too on the 'hissing" side, and soundstage is not quite there. I tried a direct connection between the Oppo 95 and the MC402 : clarity is there, but still hissing a bit. I am thinking a good preamp may help; but which one?
The budget is around $2.5K max - Constraints are: as best musicality as can be obtained in that price range, fully balanced connections, remote control.
So far i found the CA 840E, and the Vincent SA-T8. Any recommendations?
Thanks
pbd974
radiohead99
79 posts
 
I've a Vincent SA-T8 that I bought from a fellow audiogoner. This has been upgraded by upgrade company and I use NOS tubes that I got from the original owner. YMMV, but in my system pairing with a PMC AML-1 speaker and W4S Dac-2, vincent sa-t8 brings out the magic in my system. The preamp totally changed the tonal character in a subtle and obvious way. I don't think I can ever go back. They are fully balanced and comes with remote. I'm not sure whether a preamp change will solve your hissing problem though.
pbd974 OP
4 posts
 
Thank you for your reply Radiohead99.
My hearing may be the culprit for the "ssss" sounds being too pronounced. I was hoping a tube preamp would mellow out the MC402 a bit, and the SA-T8 in on top of my list. Have you ever have replaced tubes since the upgrade ? If so was the full process fairly painless (from finding the tubes to the installing) ?
As the Vincent does not seem to have a HT bypass I am still on the lookout for potential others for a bit before making the final decision. It could be frustrating a bit though, as the choices seem to be ridiculously expensive in most cases.
Thanks
bondmanp
1,811 posts
 
Your price range, give or take a few bucks, might fetch you a nice used McIntosh C220 preamp. I own this preamp, and like it a lot. $80 worth of Mullard reissue 12AX7 tubes brought the sonics up a big notch, too. Check this site, and also reliable used McIntosh sellers, like Audio Classics (where I bought mine from Ryan - great customer service!). I have to think the C220 and the MC402 would be a good pairing.
pbd974 OP
4 posts
 
I've never listened to tube preamps, but based on the searches I've run, and based on the replies so far it seems a tube preamp is the better approach. Even if I could listen to some of them in a demo room I think the difficulty would be that in the end it may still not be representative of the sound I would get within my system.
The way i described the "hissing" may not be accurate, but "dryness" does come to mind. I will continue researching in the tube section for a bit.
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