2. amps-preamps
  3. 191420-193414

Need suggestions on preamp

I’m mainly a headphone listener so when I got the chance to purchase a pair of Magnepan LRS speakers near my home town, I ran with it. I love Maggies and their midrange smoothness and live performance feel. I was able to find a used Parasound A21 for $1200 on Marketplace which was replacing my Adcom 545. I’m now running into a dilemma where I think the Adcom 545 sounded more detailed to me. I listen to a lot of instrumental music that I know well and I’m not getting the same level of detail as I’m getting with my headphone setup which is running balanced from my RME ADI-2 DAC. I’m using more expensive Audience AU-SX interconnects on those but even when running the RME direct into the amp (since it has volume control) I’m not getting the level of resolution I’m used to with my headphone setup (Hifiman HE1000 with a Serbian Audio HSA-1B amp).

I think the issue might be related to my preamp. I bought a Schiit Saga+ and despite running good NOS tubes or trying out passive mode I’m not getting the resolution I’m looking for. I’m looking for a recommendation on a preamp that costs between $1,000-$2,000 that will max out the resolution of the Parasound while keeping it’s effortless flow and naturalness in tact. Maybe the problem is the speakers and I really should have gone for the LRS+ or 1.7s? I know the room plays a huge role with Maggies but I live in a small apartment so for now I’m looking for any suggestions that can be fixed with gear. Thanks for any help!

hikaru126

Showing 3 responses by skiznfliz

skiznfliz
55 posts
 

I think I’d 86 the Maggi’s and went with a cone based speaker with either a ribbon or beryllium tweeter, you’ll probably be a lot closer to that headphone crispness you’re looking for.
Check out:

Fritz Audio

Philharmonic BMR

or best case scenario…Have Soundfield Audio Custom Make you a set of speakers like the MMW’s… Call AJ and discuss your tastes and needs… Not as much as you think.

Any of these should certainly will get you closer than Maggi’s to your headphones you’re using as your reference. I just got rid of my Maggi .7’s… I fed them lost of Hi Current Power and still No Attack, No the Slam I was jonesing for, sure they sounded good but dull. Nothing wrong with the sound Maggi’s project, lots of folks love em, thought I would, but panels just didn’t work for me.
I think Cones or Ribbon based speakers will bring you to your happy place.

skiznfliz
55 posts
 

@hikaru126 

Check out my system … Everything is listed…
I had Maggi’s for 3 years…I tried and I’ve got an Ok set up and they just didn’t cut it.
If you’re experiencing the issues you mentioned, I really don’t think swapping out a preamp is going to give you what you want. The Maggi’s have a distinct signature and the few people I know that had them who got rid of them have told me the reasons I got rid of mine were pretty much their reasons as well.
I’ve got one buddy who likes his 1.7’s but of one of the others I know actually said to me they were the speakers that had the shortest time in his listen room… At the beginning I though they were great, then after some time realized their shortcomings. Hey, LOTS of Folks Love ‘em, just feel if you’re comparing them to the sound you get from headphones, they’re be short lived with you to.
A properly crossed over speaker will not be fatiguing and once I heard a properly crossed over speaker utilizing a Beryllium tweeter I was sold ! Buying an off the shelf speaker and hoping it’s going to work in your room is a long-shot, esp if you’ve never taken measurements of your room’s acoustic values so you know what and how to address in order to achieve synergy with your room & system. Your room is probably the most important factor in achieving good sound from your rig.
You have a lot to think about, AJ at Sound Field might be able give you some insight helping you make a better decision for your situation.

skiznfliz
55 posts
 

@hikaru126 
IMHO you’re doing an awful amount to try to make these Maggi’s work. Based upon the musical tastes you stated in your OP these really aren’t the best choice… Maggi’s are more acoustic guitar than Rock…and now they’re causing you to dive deeper into the rabbit hole. I can assure you, by this time next year you’ll be in one of these many scenarios…

1. You’ll have just about swapped out every piece of equipment you have thinking each swap will get you closer to your desired sound.

2. You’ll be Listening to music that sounds great on the Maggi’s but not your favorite…The good thing with this is it will open you to music genres you may have written off in the past.

3. You’ll have learnt the ropes of Ebay, US Audio Mart, Audiogone, PayPal, etc. because of all the online postings of your system you’ve been trying to unload all because you tried to make things work that don’t add up.

4. Possibility of you not enjoying your system because the sound coming out is frustrating being all the time, money and effort you put into it causing you to not want to listen to your rig as much as you’d want to.

I’m not trying to preach, just did the Maggi Route,Yes they can be great speakers with the right music and a lot of effort, heck even in one of the prior posts a guy mentions took 3 years to get em to sound right. Everyone who came to my place thought they sounded great, that’s because I knew what to demo on them, but when it came time to my critical listening, I cringed more than I wanted.

I went thru several PreAmps, (Parasound P5 & P6, Rogue RP-1, Tubes For HiFi SP-13, Odyssey Candella), Several Amps (Chi-Fi EL34’s, Carver 275, Adcom 565, Odyssey Stereo Khartago, Odyssey Kismet Extreme Monoblocks).  Did the Interconnect & Power Cable Upgrades (Cardas, Wire World, Gronberg), Added GIK Room absorption panels & Bass Traps…So believe me when I say you’re on a up hill battle.


Just speaking from my experience, take it for what it’s worth. I hope you find your happy place 🔊

 

 

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