Ok, so unwillingly i had to replace my parasound p5 due to the fact that it had an inherent imbalance that the parasound guys couldn’t address even after having it sent out for repairs twice. It also had other issues. I really liked how it sounded but I got tired of having the center image shifted waay to the right and having to compensate for it, which made the soundstage do peculiar things. What replaced it was an emotiva xsp-1 gen 2 which by all accounts was a superior pre, at least on paper and in fact, some things it does better but with my speakers (klipsch palladium p37f) the midrange is not a pleasant affair. So what I think I need is a tube pre with bass management and ht bypass. Does such a thing exist?? I’ve searched and searched to no avail. The rest of the system is emotiva xpa-2 gen2, schiit bifrost multibit (and other stuff that’s inconsequential on this thread) and that is unlikely to change.
This thread has been dormant a while. Figured I would see whats new in the past few years. McIntosh would be great but probably out of my price range. I want a Tube Pre, with HT Bypass. Prefer to have at least one XLR input (and output obviously) and bass management would be a super bonus. I have a parasound P5 for that now, but its older and looking for a more warmer sound from tube.
Thanks a lot for all the suggestions, for some reason audiogon wasn't letting post anything for few days. Anyway, the input impedance of my amp over imbalanced inputs is 23 kohms and 32 over balanced so the primaluna is out unfortunately but the jolida seems like perfect fit, also the budget is 1000 or under.
The Audio Research LS-15/16/17, and 25/26/27 pre's have a processor pass-through input. The 15/16/17 can be found used for under $1500, the 25/26/27 for $2500 or so.
Hi, you can get a Mapletree preamp customized with HT pass thru, sub out and upgraded with a high quality attenuator and caps for much less that what you are eyeing. Not to mention the 6sn7/12sn7 tubes are much better than 12au7 so you may end up with a better sounding preamp.
Keep your eyes open for one--I think you may have just missed one or two here. They are relatively inexpensive for what you get, so maybe worth buying new anyway. See if you can demo one from a dealer.
As you probably know most subs have high level (speaker level) inputs and the sub sets the crossover. I prefer REL which lets the mains run full frequencies and you set the sub with its own volume and cut off. I’m using a Modwright tuned preamp. It’s has two RCA pre-outs which you could run to the sub or run your amp’s speaker outputs. I highly recommend Modwright.
Yes! The primaluna looks like the ticket. By bass management I just mean that I'd prefer a dedicated sub out with passive x-over but the Luna is exactly what I'd need. Now if I could only find it second hand...
I really want to stay with strictly 2 (if dual outs are existing) or 2.1 pre. I have a feeling that unnecessary circuits extend the signal path raising noise floor etc, etc.
I think this one would work extremely well unless I’m missing your requirements somehow. I have the integrated version and I love it. Perhaps your "bass management" is what has me confused, but you can run your subs off of this even in HT bypass if that's what you mean. If you're looking for internal filtering for bass output (i.e. For passsive subs or bi-amping) or internal EQ, then no, this isn't it.
I wasn't sure if that was possible since no pre I owned had dual outs. I also need a way to integrate into ht. Is that possible without ht bypass? Actually I know it is but I never had a need to really look into it so my knowledge is limited.
Yeah, but even as a 2.1 channel pre, the P7 is pretty nice, and quite reasonable used. It is a better 2 channel pre than the P5 by far, just ignore the extra inputs/outputs.
But... no reason for you to go that route either. You don't need a 2.1 especially either. Any pre with dual outputs would happily feed a sub with it's own low pass filter.
Yes, I would imagine that the p7 is a better pre but I have no use or want for a multi channel pre since the priority is two (or 2.1) channel. Hence my dilemma.
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