How important is the preamp?


Hi,
I have been slowly working towards a decent system. I have a pair of 1.6 Maggies and an Ariston Audio turntable from the '70s with SME series III tonearm and Grado Red cartridge with a Parasound PPH 100 preamp. I had been using a Marantz 5200 receiver and also a basic Panasonic DVD/CD player. I decided it was time to get a better amplifier and am trying out a Classe CA 201 power amp. I wanted to hold off for a little while before getting a preamp so I am using the Marantz as a preamp. I love the way CDs are sounding but am a bit underwhelmed as far as my vinyl is concerned. Any suggestions please?
medullablongata

Showing 1 response by soix

Agreed with posts above. In my system I've experienced larger absolute differences between preamps than amps, so I think you've really got something to look forward to down the road.

Another thought -- sounds like you really like what you're hearing from the Classe, which is great. If you haven't already I'd suggest trying some others before jumping on the Classe. I haven't owned Maggies so others might have some better recommendations on which amps work well with them, but I'll just throw out Bryston or McCormack that might give you somewhat different flavors vs. the Classe (better or worse, that's for you to decide obviously). Also, if it's possible you might go with a tube preamp you might want to pay attention to input impedance to maximize your preamp choices later on. Best of luck in your search.