Good Pre Amp W/Remote for Marsh A400s Amp??

Here are some questions for you: budget? input impedance of your amp? your musical/sonic preferences? SS or tubes?

the marsh pres are excellent like the amps

Hi all,

GuidoCorona...The specs are 56k OHM for Unbalanced and
4K OHMS for Balanced inputs. I love tube smoothness
to be sure, but also love a firm grip on the bass. That's
kinda what I already love about the Marsh amp.
Music wise, just about anything except Country & Rap.
Mostly Jazz & various Rock.

Telescope, 4K Ohms for balanced input may limit your choice of pres to devices with very low output impedance. The balanced pre I use has very low balanced output impedance of 80Ohms, remote control, incredibly smooth, but also very detailed and open, very fast with loads of authority, and built like a little tank. . . but it does not use tubes. It is the solid state jeff Rowland Capri. Seems to sell around the $2K mark on Audiogon., or about $2600 new. Needless to say, I do like it a lot. Guido

Guido,

Thanks! So what should I look for in a match?
Any problems if I just run unbalanced? Or should
I just hold out for a Marsh pre to be safe either
way?

Bob

Telescope, I have never run the capri single ended. . . I am sure it will be fine. However, it is worth pointing out that Capri is a truly balanced design. In SE mode it may sound a little thinner and perhaps with less authority than in balanced mode. If you are asking what kind of sound you can expect from Capri. . . very grain free from top to bottom, without hot spots or 'thin' holes. . . lots of authority and speed, but also very good low level detail and 'emotion' in the music. The bass is very deep and pitched, but it may not sound as 'dark' as that of some tube preamplifiers. The midrange is very textured and full of harmonics, but it does not sound 'warm'. The treble is very extended, but is not tizzy. Staging is wide and deep, but does not give the floating impression of being in a vast fish tank. Overall, a very balanced device, that I enjoy over some more expensive linestages. . . but it may not float the boat of some lover of particularly 'warm' sound. Guido

You might want to consider a Krell KRC-3 or one of the newer Krell preamps if your budget permits. I had the Parasound Halo P3; not a bad preamp but I was never entirely satisfyed with it. The Krell KRC-3 outdid it by quite a margin.

There are obviously going to be synergies with the Marsh pre. If I were you I'd start with a P2000b that you can probably get for 700 bucks or so, and then let something else try to better it in areas that matter to you. By the way, Marsh amps produce much better sound from the balanced inputs so that's the way I'd run it. Can't imagine you'd be unhappy with the Marsh pre especially since you already seem to take to the Marsh sound, and it's certainly a low-risk way to start both monitarily and sonically. Best of luck.

There are 3 or 4 Pass Labs X-1s for sale on Audiogon. One of them belongs to me. The price is right and you can not find a better built or sounding preamp in the 2K price range.