Looking for a preamp with balanced outs

[nightflier]

There are a lot of decent used preamps out there, but not too many with balanced outs. What are some quality preamps from a few years back in the under $400 range (used)?

(I'm helping someone complete an older setup with amps that have only balanced inputs, but I thought that it might be useful info for others since this type question gets asked here every so often anyhow.)

[Dusty Chalk]

I don't know, but the other thing you can do is just put an adapter between the two.

[nightflier]

I don't know, but the other thing you can do is just put an adapter between the two.

Yes, I considered that, but I don't want to introduce more "factors" into the chain - plus I would need another set of cables between the adapter and the preamp. I've always considered the link between preamp and amp to be the most important when it comes to IC's, so I wanted to go for a straight link.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Certainly there must be some 5+ year old highly recommended balance preamps out there? I'm considering Marsh and the Halo, but finding these at this price point is hard enough. I wasn't really into audio so much a decade ago, so I really don't know what made the headlines back then.

[Feanor]

There are a lot of decent used preamps out there, but not too many with balanced outs. What are some quality preamps from a few years back in the under $400 range (used)?

(I'm helping someone complete an older setup with amps that have only balanced inputs, but I thought that it might be useful info for others since this type question gets asked here every so often anyhow.)

I'm very please with my ADCOM GFP-750. It has a set of balanced inputs too, plus amenities like remote control. They're going on Audiogon for about $700, (or you can buy a new one from Audio Advisor for $1500).

It is a Nelson Pass design. You can run it in either active or passive mode; (currently I'm using the latter). It got a rave review from Wes Philips at Stereophile a few years ago ...
http://stereophile.com/solidpreamps/133/

[nightflier]

Feanor, that's a bit higher than we want to spend. I will keep an eye open for this model on Audiogon & eBay, though.

What about some of the older B&K stuff? I've seen some that have balanced outs.

What else was popular a decade ago?

[dev18283]

NAD 116 has a balanced output and the sound is also prety amazing......

[squeegy200]

I often see Apt/Homan preamps from the early 80s with balanced connectors for sale on the used market. I believe this was an option at the time so most do not have it. But every so often I see them with the balanced connectors on the back panel. They typically sell in the used marketplace for around $200-300 in good condition.

[nightflier]

NAD 116 has a balanced output and the sound is also prety amazing......

Wow, I didn't even think NAD knew what a balanced connector was until recently. I'll look for that one. I did notice a NAD S100 on eBay but it's selling a bit high right now. Very nice specs and it comes with a remote, too. I'll keep watching it; maybe the seller will lower the price if it doesn't sell.

[Glen B]

Feanor, that's a bit higher than we want to spend. I will keep an eye open for this model on Audiogon & eBay, though.

What about some of the older B&K stuff? I've seen some that have balanced outs.

What else was popular a decade ago?

The B&K Sonata series PRO-10MC and MC-101 were both available with optional balanced outs. You may also be able to find a used Classe CP-30 or CP35 for around $400-$450.

[nightflier]

Glen, good to know. I've seen the B&K mc-101 on eBay here & there, but never with balanced out. I'll see if I can find the pro-10mc as well. Any idea on how old these are?

Squeegy200, I've heard good stuff about the Apt/Holman preamps, especially with replacement of the pots. Any model numbers you would recommend?

What about bryston, any models to avoid?

[Feanor]

Glen, good to know. I've seen the B&K mc-101 on eBay here & there, but never with balanced out. I'll see if I can find the pro-10mc as well. Any idea on how old these are?

Squeegy200, I've heard good stuff about the Apt/Holman preamps, especially with replacement of the pots. Any model numbers you would recommend?

What about bryston, any models to avoid?

The B&K Reference 5 S2 looks terrific to me and very reasonably priced, especially considering it has a tuner built in and basic bass management too.

'Flier, a new one might be above your budget, but would certainly be good value.
...

[Glen B]

Glen, good to know. I've seen the B&K mc-101 on eBay here & there, but never with balanced out. I'll see if I can find the pro-10mc as well. Any idea on how old these are?

They were made from about 1992 thru 1997. I owned an MC-101 for a while back then. IMHO, the later preamps don't seem to have the same level of parts/build quality.

[Feanor]

...
'Flier, a new one might be above your budget, but would certainly be good value.
...

A user B&K Reference 5 S2 ...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1169328923

[nightflier]

Feanor,

Thanks I'll check it out. I do have one question: it has XLR outs, but no inputs. I was always under the impression that it was better to keep everything XLR from the source to the amp. Is that true? It won't matter for this application, but I'm just wondering.

I also do have to agree with GlenB about B&K of late. I have had a B&K PT3-II preamp for many years and while it is definitely a notch above many brands (and designed/assembled here in the US), it is not as good as say older PS Audio gear, which I think B&K was trying to compete against. The tuner is definitely not up to the standards of standalone tuners (I have an Audio Refinement tuner that blows it away). It also seems a bit more flimsy here & there. The older B&K gear, while very reasonably priced on Audiogon/eBay seems to be of higher quality. Of course, those don't come with a remote like the Ref.5 does.

Dev18, I still have not found any NAD with balanced outs. I always liked NAD's excellent bass performance...

[dev18283]

The only Model I saw in Nad Having Balanced Output is 116 , it has a good spec.....and i have used one pre with balanced output in Sansui ( Old model ) i dont remember the model number.This NAD 116 is good...
dev.

[Feanor]

Feanor,

Thanks I'll check it out. I do have one question: it has XLR outs, but no inputs. I was always under the impression that it was better to keep everything XLR from the source to the amp. Is that true? It won't matter for this application, but I'm just wondering.
...

I'm sold on balanced connections between preamp and amp -- largely because my current amps are specifically designed to work best with balanced signals. However I'm not sure how important it is really. Lots of preamps have XLR outputs only and everything else RCA.

I gather that the main advantage of a truly balanced is resistance to interference. Also, I gather that running an single-end, RCA signal through an XLR adaptor doesn't result in a truely balanced signal. That's because with single-end the push/pull is all from the + wire, whereas with balanced, while the + wire is pushing, the - wire is pulling and vice versa. Did I get that right? :confused5:

[Dusty Chalk]

Well...not exactly. The electrons have to go somewhere. So even in a single-ended configuration, the electrons are still going in the opposite direction on the - wire. I'm not sure how important it is whether or not they're pulled or let drift.