Need help in deciding


Haven't posted in awhile but need some suggestions to upgrade amplifiers and to add a preamp with home theater bypass to my HT system.Thought is to upgrade the two channel performance for this system.

Current amps are five Nuforce Ref 8B's. Should I upgrade them to the latest version or look for an amp to drive my Sonus Faber Grand Piano Homes with matching center and surrounds??

Current pre processor is the Classe SSP 60 which is fine for home theater but not for two channel. What would you suggest??

Budget for preamp and two channel amp would be 5K total. Upgrade cost for Nuforce amps is 3K for a reference.

All suggestions welcome.
hiflyer
Glenn, both are fairly easy for tube rolling. The BAT VK-3iX uses (4) 6DJ8/6922/7308 family of tubes in the line stage and (2) 6V6's in the power supply section, all can be rolled. The SE versions of the BAT use the 6H30 tube, which cannot be rolled easily. So the VK-3iX is very different from the VK-3iXSE.

The Cary SLP-98 uses (4) 6SN7's in the line stage, which also can be easily rolled.

Rolling in the Cary may be a little easier, since there is no cover to remove. :)
I also agree that a new preamp would be the best place to start. For 2 channel, its just too important to not get right. Both the Cary and BAT units mentioned above are excellent. Either will completely transform the sound you get from 2 ch. Another unit you may want to consider is an Aesthetix Calypso. Its also a great all around, excellent sounding component. Its good enough to be your last preamp.

The only thing I would add is with regards to tube rolling. There's nothing wrong with doing it, but I wouldn't lock myself into a choice primarily because of it. The people who design the preamps mentioned above really know what they are doing. They all sound great with stock tubes. I would suggest that it may be better to choose a preamp in its stock form. While the sound of the tubes do factor in, the design does, as well. If this is a component that you plan on keeping for a while, I think you will probably make a better choice going that route.

That said, I think it would be pretty difficult to mess up with the 3 preamps listed above. If you don't mind going SE, Conrad Johnson is a great choice also. As far as the amps go, stick with what you have for now. Your system will sound vastly better with the right preamp. Also, you will need time to get used to the sound and if you change 2 major components at once, it increases your chance of making a mistake. There's a very good chance you would pick a different amp later on, once you get to know your system, than if you were to buy one right now.
+1 wow, some excellent suggestions.

Regarding your NuForce amplifiers. The suggestion to hold on to them for now and become familiar with a new preamp is good advise. I upgraded from version 1 SEs to version 3. While the upgrade was audible It made me realized I wanted to go back go tubes.

Am I assuming correctly that you want your two channel to sound all it can be yet still have it play its part as the left and right channels of your HT system?
John,

Thank you for the update on both units.Like I stated I have used the AI Modulus 3 along with Clayton M 70's and Martin Logan Requests and the sound was magical. The music jumped out at you and the horns were vivid and live sounding. Miss that combination.... The Cary unit definitely is an option.

Glenn
Zd542,

Thank you for the information on the Aesthetix Calypso. I will do my homework and compare it to the Cary unit. Which CJ unit would you recommend? Have never used CJ equipment and have thought about trying their amps.

The Nuforce amps are fine for HT but I find them a little too analytical for two channel. But will purchase the pre first and see if it helps.

Glenn