Configuring my system.. component opinions.


Hey All-
I have been a silent reader & student of this forum for a while and value all of your insights and opinions greatly.
I am re-configuring my system and need some advice. I listen to vinyl 70% of the time, apple laptop/iPod 20% of the time, and Radio (..remember radio?) 10% of the time. I use two turntables- Technics SL-1200 and SL-1300. Mostly I listen to rock, jazz, country. I sold my old Mac C29 preamp, but aim to continue using my MC2500 power amp (500x2). I currently use a pair of Spendor A5's, and my listening room is pretty large (40ft x 40ft)- I live in an open warehouse loft in Brooklyn.
My questions:
What are my options as a "preamp" component to get the 2 turntable sources, the tuner source, and a DAC into my MC2500? I probably prefer tube, but simplicity in source selection, reliability, and overall quality are more important in decision making. Is a pair of phono preamp AND a preamp smarter? Price is always a consideration, but I am willing to splurge on a piece that will last me a while.
Could I do "better" with the style of music I prefer (Grateful Dead, WIlco, Coltrane), the powerful MC2500, and my large listening area with a different set of speakers - or are the Spendor A5's a pretty good match.
Thank you all so much for any insights you may have!
Cheers
tudor141

Showing 1 response by marakanetz

For tube pream you should try to find CAT JL1(might or mightnot have phono). It's the ultimate tube unit that hard to beat at 10x price to pay.
If you need MC phonostage I'd recommend choosing solid state. High gain tube devices are noisy in general. One of the best contenders I know of is Violectric(violectric.de). This phonostage will have two analogue inputs one is balanced and another is unbalanced. For the balanced connection all you need to do is to convert your unbalanced tonearm to 5-din connector where 4 dins are for +-2ch and 5th is ground. For the unbalanced connection you need to speak to manufacturer(they're quite flexible customizing their product) to install toggle switch between two inputs so you don't run them at the same time.

Having in mind that you listen computer audio, there are excellent choices of multi-format USB-DAC preamps that do the great preamp job with high quality volume control such as Antelope Audio Zodiac, Burson etc... Meaning you can also have DAC-preamp with external phonostage for your rig.

P.S. Dont forget to click on UK flag once you get to violectric.de if you don't speak/read german:-)