Looking for new Pre-Amp [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

Feanor

11-01-2008, 01:45 AM

What do you all think of this? http://www.8audio-mall.com/servlet/the-294/High-dsh-End-Tube-Pre-dsh-Amp--dsh-/Detail

I mean the High-End Upgraded M7 Tube Pre-Amplifier with upgraded, not the dismally designed site.

thanks

Thanks. This is fastinating example of what China has to offer. They have what they proport to be knock-offs of several famous preamp designs. If well executed, the results could be very good, but that's a big "if".

Note that there is no remote and that the voltage is 220V.

atomicAdam

11-01-2008, 07:48 AM

Thanks. This is fastinating example of what China has to offer. They have what they proport to be knock-offs of several famous preamp designs. If well executed, the results could be very good, but that's a big "if".

Note that there is no remote and that the voltage is 220V.

No remote isn't an issue, but the 220V is. Thanks for the input.

atomicAdam

11-01-2008, 07:54 AM

So then I need a good suggestion on a pre-amp.

I would like to get a tube pre-amp that will just either run an iPod (shame shame I know) or a PS1 for CDs. I have Polk RTiAi Speakers and currently have 2 Onkyo M-282 driving the speakers. One for the Mids/Low the other for the Highs. (i'm poor)

Only pre-amps I've found that lately while looking around are either in the $3000+ range or like $200. I really just need something with that will take 2 inputs, 1or2 outputs, has volume, maybe bass/high adjustment, and tubes. I would be either interested in a build it yourself kit or pre-made.

blackraven

11-01-2008, 08:46 AM

Check out the Van Alstine Preamps. www.avahifi.com
He has 3 types. An all Solid State called the Insight that has a very nice sound which is very tube like for $899. It is a bargain at that price and if your looking for a reasonable priced preamp that has a warmer tube like sound go for it. All his equipment has a 30 day trial period and can be returned, no questions asked. An all tube called the Transcendent 8 which has fantastic transparency, stereo separation and sound stage. I dont believe that its listed on his site yet but it is available.

His best and most expensive at $1700 is the Tube/SS hybrid which is the one I have and its has an in between sound compared to the other 2. Detail, resolution and transparency as well as sound stage is better. These preamps would cost hundreds if not a thousand or so more if mass produced.

atomicAdam

11-01-2008, 08:53 AM

Check out the Van Alstine Preamps. www.avahifi.com

I've seen the site before and poked around. Thanks for the recommendation. The $1299 price range of the Transcendence Eight is definitely more in my price range. Thanks.

What do other AR members think about this pre-amp (http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/preamplifier/Transcendence_Eight_Vacuum_Tube_Preamplifier.htm). Or have other suggestions?

Feanor

11-01-2008, 10:34 AM

I've seen the site before and poked around. Thanks for the recommendation. The $1299 price range of the Transcendence Eight is definitely more in my price range. Thanks.

What do other AR members think about this pre-amp (http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/preamplifier/Transcendence_Eight_Vacuum_Tube_Preamplifier.htm). Or have other suggestions?

FWIW, The Absolute Sound very recently recommeded this preamp as being amoung "the best" in its price range.

blackraven

11-01-2008, 11:04 AM

Adam, browse the Van Alstine forum- Audio Circle located under the Resources tab in the avahifi.com site. Read the posts about his preamps. I havent found a bad post and there are alot of audiophiles there. People who buy Van alstine equipment swear by it. If you look at audiogon you rarely find a used piece of Van Alstine gear. people keep them for years and upgrade them as he makes improvements to his gear. All his gear is usually up gradeable.

Mr Peabody

11-01-2008, 02:59 PM

Adam I would be cautious with buying gear such as you posted. Inexpensive tube gear is usually prone to high noise as well as other build issues. Emotiva and Outlaw are showing that decent equipment can be had at a reasonable price though. If taking a chance just be sure there is a return policy if not happy. If on a budget you don't want to waste what resources you have on a gamble.

If remote isn't an issue, my suggestion is to browse Audiogon. You can sometimes pick up a Conrad Johnson PV-10 or similar vintage pieces for $400.00 to $500.00

Like: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1229758228&/Conrad-Johnson-PV-10B-

or, this one isn't so cheap
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1228063168&/Conrad-Johnson-PV-14L-PV14L-Ni

Not many like I was talking about on there today but you have to keep you eye on it.

Another suggestion if you could forgo tubes is an Adcom preamp. They are always on Audiogon for around $300.00 give or take depending on the model.

If that 2nd CJ model wasn't out of reach, I'd sell mine for not much more. I like mine but have my eye on a CT-6. Honestly though for what you are doing the PV-10b would be perfect but it's crazy to spend much more based on your sources for listening.

atomicAdam

11-01-2008, 03:19 PM

blackraven

11-01-2008, 03:30 PM

Actually the preamp may improve the sound with your amp. A poor preamp's signal will only be made worse by a good amp but the reverse is usually not the case. A good preamp will be sending a better signal to your amp.

Rich-n-Texas

11-01-2008, 03:33 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. The iPod is a horrid source, but the PS1 actually has good reviews, but that is another issue.

I wander if getting a Van Alstine tube amp would be wasted with the Onkyo M-282 as power amps after it?

Though the Van Alstine is a piece of equipment I could keep for a long time.

Maybe looking at a cheaper source right now would be best to stay in line with the rest of the system.

I'll have to look around some more.

-adam
Adam, you... wonder; you don't "wander" okay? :smilewinkgrin: I'm the grammar and spelling police here.

Find a post by Sir Terrence the Terrible and check his sig. His equipment list is loaded with Onkyo equipment. I'd also recommend you look into Emotiva. (Look at posts #1 & #5 in this thread: http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=28509 )

atomicAdam

11-01-2008, 03:47 PM

Adam, you... wonder; you don't "wander" okay? :smilewinkgrin: I'm the grammar and spelling police here.

Find a post by Sir Terrence the Terrible and check his sig. His equipment list is loaded with Onkyo equipment. I'd also recommend you look into Emotiva. (Look at posts #1 & #5 in this thread: http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=28509 )

Hey RnT - I'll check out Sir Terrence the Terrible's sig.

BTW - wondering and wandering for me are pretty much the same thing, just depends on the physical. And I am a dyslexic horrible speller and my grammar is pretty much out the window 50% of the time. So, I wont take offense to your corrections as long as you don't take offense to the amount od work I'm gonna make your fingers do! :D

So maybe a better questions for this thread would have been.

I've got a PS1 and iPod as my music source. The PS1 is good. There is a nice review here (http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcomponents/708play/index.html) and anyways it is what I plan to use cause so far I like the sound.

Here is the question: With a PS1 as the CD player, and two Onkyo M-282 amps with Polk RTiA1 speakers, (the speakers are bi-amped, not left and right but highs and mids/lows) what would be a good pre-amp with or with out base/treble control to add to this system so I don't have to constantly adjust the little volume control in the back of the M-282s to increase/decrease volume.

All suggestions are welcome, but keep in mind I am mountain bike rich and money poor. Thanks
-adam

Mr Peabody

11-01-2008, 04:19 PM

Adam, if upgrade isn't out of the question down the road, you have a valid thought in buying a good preamp now and just upgrading around it as you go.

atomicAdam

11-01-2008, 04:36 PM

Adam, if upgrade isn't out of the question down the road, you have a valid thought in buying a good preamp now and just upgrading around it as you go.

Sounds like a better than not pre-amp would be the way to go.

Thanks gents for the suggestions and help.

E-Stat

11-03-2008, 06:56 AM

What do you all think of this?
I'm a firm believer in system matching. You may not need an active gain stage at all. You might try the cheap-but-good route of making an inexpensive set of attenuators to drive the amps. I've made two and the first one now sits in a drawer. Its yours if you pick up the shipping. Not pretty, but functional.

rw

Feanor

11-03-2008, 08:14 AM

I'm a firm believer in system matching. You may not need an active gain stage at all. You might try the cheap-but-good route of making an inexpensive set of attenuators to drive the amps. I've made two and the first one now sits in a drawer. Its yours if you pick up the shipping. Not pretty, but functional.

rw

I can't disagree with system matching. In your case you driving high-end VTL tube power amps. The fact may be that in Adam's case his Onkyo s/s units would benefit from the "prettyfying" that tube preamps can provide.

From everything I've heard & seen Mr Peabody's suggestion of an older, used Conrad Johnson is a very good one provided you don't need remote control; (couldn't live without it myself).

E-Stat

11-03-2008, 08:55 AM

I can't disagree with system matching. In your case you driving high-end VTL tube power amps. The fact may be that in Adam's case his Onkyo s/s units would benefit from the "prettyfying" that tube preamps can provide.
I confess that I enjoy having some triodes in a system (the vintage one also benefits from a tube line stage in the DAC), but not for the reason you mentioned.

rw

atomicAdam

11-05-2008, 10:58 AM

How about a Transcendence Five SL http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/used/used.htm (http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/used/used.htm) from Van Alstine. AR has 1 user review of it here (http://www.audioreview.com/cat/amplification/preamplifiers/audio-by-van-alstine/transcendence-five-sl/PRD_142986_1591crx.aspx). Only $445 from Van Alstine's site.

blackraven

11-05-2008, 11:24 AM

Adam, the T-5 SL sounds like a very good deal, plus it has a return policy. If you have questions about it call Frank Van Alstine. He always answers his phone and enjoys talking about audio equipment. I've seen some of his older gear. They come in a smaller case.

For $445, you won find a better sounding preamp.

Feanor

11-05-2008, 12:29 PM

E-Stat

11-06-2008, 02:38 PM

For $445, you won find a better sounding preamp.
Back in the 70s, I had one of his FET-5 modified Dyna preamps. It was quite the bargain in its day and I suspect his current offerings are no different. Having said that, I am now of the opinion that preamps are largely superfluous for most high level sources. There are more integrated amps on the market now like the Pass Labs unit that contain no separate active gain stage. They have high gain amp stages with a buffered volume control. I've yet to meet a perfect gain stage.

I am sending my original, but updated attenuator box to Adam. I will be curious to get his reaction.

rw

atomicAdam

11-06-2008, 03:51 PM

Back in the 70s, I had one of his FET-5 modified Dyna preamps. It was quite the bargain in its day and I suspect his current offerings are no different. Having said that, I am now of the opinion that preamps are largely superfluous for most high level sources. There are more integrated amps on the market now like the Pass Labs unit that contain no separate active gain stage. They have high gain amp stages with a buffered volume control. I've yet to meet a perfect gain stage.

I am sending my original, but updated attenuator box to Adam. I will be curious to get his reaction.

rw

Yes, thank you very much for that E-Stat. I'll let you know for sure.

Mr Peabody

11-06-2008, 06:55 PM

Hey E-stat, what are you sending me?

E-Stat

11-11-2008, 02:17 PM

Hey E-stat, what are you sending me?
Hmmm. I'm not an equipment collector like some, so there's not much lying around. How about a Toshiba SD-2900 DVD player that skips on movies? I used it for a while to burn in a new transport to DAC cable that was intolerably bright. Since I source the modest in-house system with the computer, it gets little use today. :)

rw

Mr Peabody

11-11-2008, 05:13 PM

Thanks, but no thanks, I was more hoping for a test drive of your VTL's or something a bit more exciting than the Tosh player.

Mr Peabody

11-11-2008, 05:20 PM

Thanks, but no thanks, I was more hoping for a test drive of your VTL's or something a bit more exciting than the Tosh player.

Rich-n-Texas

11-12-2008, 08:23 AM

Double post!!!

E-Stat

11-12-2008, 08:43 AM

Thanks, but no thanks, I was more hoping for a test drive of your VTL's or something a bit more exciting than the Tosh player.
Honestly, my reply was more tongue-in-cheek. There are a bunch of audio hoarders, however, who maintain dozens of receivers, amps, speakers, etc. they never use.

rw

Feanor

11-12-2008, 09:39 AM

There's some darned tube nice stuff out there for <$600 (esp. if you forego remote control) ...

Sonic Frontiers SLF-1 (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1231619563&/Sonic-Frontiers-SFL-1)
Counterpoint SA 1000 SA-1000 w/ phono mm/mc (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1231447086&/Counterpoint-SA-1000-SA-1000)
Anthem Pre 1 (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1231175548&/Anthem-Pre-1)
AES Model AE-3 6SN7 (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1230869069&/AES-Model-AE-3)
Assemblage L-1 Hybrid (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1230089734&/Assemblage-L-1)
Conrad Johnson PV-10B (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1229758228&/Conrad-Johnson-PV-10B)
Quad QC Twenty- Four (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1229602065&/Quad-QC-Twenty--Four-Tube-Preamp-)

Mr Peabody

11-12-2008, 05:12 PM

E-stat I got it. I was just trying to throw is back.

Do I get extra points for double post???? Normally when I get impatient and try to click the "post" button again I end up in vbulletin time out. I couldn't do that again if I tried.

atomicAdam

11-12-2008, 09:14 PM

Honestly, my reply was more tongue-in-cheek. There are a bunch of audio hoarders, however, who maintain dozens of receivers, amps, speakers, etc. they never use.

rw

sounds like me and bike, hooking a poor ($$$ wise) friend up this weekend. guy busted his frame, i'm handing down a pretty good one collecting dust in my room, with wheel, shox and all. better it get used than sit and collect dust.

trollgirl

11-16-2008, 02:54 PM

This may help - yesterday my new preamp arrived, a Meridian 201 in perfect shape, and perfect sonics. This is high-end British gear, I am thrilled with it, and have paid more for preamps in the past. In the meantime, I was using an Aiwa preamp from a micro-component group, and even though I only paid twenty bucks for pre, power, tuner, and cassette deck, the preamp alone was worth the money, once I used de-oxit on the pots. Good, but not great.

Get an interim preamp while you wait for the GOOD DEAL to come along.

Laz

stevareno

11-26-2008, 09:51 PM

I bought vintage...Onkyo.....P306 RS dual outputs...killer phono stage.....also have an Onkyo P3030....P3150.....P301.......3 of these were less than 70 dollars......all sound fantastic......YUP...EBAY...and they pop up every day. Why buy over-rated over-priced Chinese c@%$ when you could go INTEGRA for pennies on the dollar??

atomicAdam

12-09-2008, 11:20 AM

well I called Van Alstine today to try to snag the Tran 5 SL but it was sold out. He said he has an Omega III for $399. This is a solid state amp, the review on AR.com (http://www.audioreview.com/cat/digital-sources/cd-players/audio-by-van-alstine/omega-iii/PRD_116804_1586crx.aspx) are very positive.

He said the sound is very clean, dynamic and great. I am sure it would be something I would be happy with, but I just had my heart set on tubes. Maybe it would be a good thing to get, have for a bit to know the sounds, then move on.

What do you all think?

-adam

atomicAdam

12-09-2008, 01:49 PM

well - i jumped the gun and got it.

i convinced myself in the post above to just get it and try it to see what it is like. if it isn't good, guess i can just sell it.

Ajani

12-09-2008, 02:01 PM

well - i jumped the gun and got it.

i convinced myself in the post above to just get it and try it to see what it is like. if it isn't good, guess i can just sell it.

It should be good... Blackraven and some other forum members think very highly of VA gear... Anyway, it's at least worth trying...

blackraven

12-09-2008, 05:53 PM

Adam, If the Omega is anything like his current gear then I think you will like it. All of Franks equipment, including his solid state stuff has a more natural sound and the SS amps and preamps sound more tube like than SS.

Frank gives a 30 day money back guarentee on his new gear, check and see if this applies to his refurbished or older equipment,

Also, have you been on his forum, AudioCirlce's to see what other people have said about his stuff?

atomicAdam

12-09-2008, 06:14 PM

Also, have you been on his forum, AudioCirlce's to see what other people have said about his stuff?

I am sure it will be a great addition to my lack-luster collection.

I will check out the forums, hopefully, before too long. Honestly I hardly have enough time to even get on MTBR forums or AR forums to see what is going on.

I don't have a computer at home (trying to get more reading done, lots of books I want to read), and therefore I miss out some forum activity.

Anyways, Thanks again.

-adam

blackraven

12-10-2008, 05:57 AM

Adam, VA's 30day money back guarentee extends to his used equipment.

freddievortex1

12-28-2008, 05:03 PM

What do you all think of this? http://www.8audio-mall.com/servlet/the-294/High-dsh-End-Tube-Pre-dsh-Amp--dsh-/Detail

I mean the High-End Upgraded M7 Tube Pre-Amplifier with upgraded, not the dismally designed site.

thanks

Consider all your current input/ output needs. I have many so to keep all my recording/playback sources connected I use a mixing board. Something simple with phono inputs and 3-4 line inputs and maybe some EQ control. They also allow a mike input.