zugisland. I am considering the Grand Pre to replace a CJ PV5 to drive a Mac MC275. Please give me more of your impressions and what associated equipment used with the Grand Prix.
Hubb |
Yes, I am anxious to hear more. |
Zugisland, I see from one of your previous posts that you own a Zodiac Gold with the Voltikus PS. Is the Grand Pre replacing it? How do they compare? |
Got rid of the zodiac along time ago I found it cold . So far I love the grand pre.using it with the new vonschwiekart Vr35`s and bryston 7bsst2 monoblocks,using a dell zino running River streaming thru it from a has drive.Anyway the presence of the GP is very musical,detail and resolution is supurb and when you punch it and the Brytons with some Nickleback or Metallica the room fills with the band in my room,this setup is very revealing and good recordings sound so good lesser recordings frrom the 70,s still sound a lil bland in comparison,however much better then my previous wyred4sound dac2. The dac2 was good but the grand pre is so much more musical.I've yet to do a sit down compare to the normal mode and the tube mode yet just been running it in tube for now.Hard to believe the price point for what it does I compare it favorably to the MSN dac which costs 4 times as much,also very silky when using the HTbypass to watch movies and or listen to my old DVD audios. The remote is awesome giving u individual buttons for each input far superior to the WY red whose remote just scrolled inputs .. |
zugisland, how would you rate it as a Pre AMp? You obvioulsly are excited about the DAC. Have you run any analogue sources through it??
I would plan on running vinyl through a phono pre into the GP as well as use it for a DAC.
Hubb |
ithink it will work great..ive beeen using both the usb implemntation, coax and HT bypass so far will be adding more..im sure you will be happy with its perfromance..V |
Zugis, any new updates on the Grand Pre? |
How does the Grand Pre compare to the McIntosh C220? Thanks. |
Guys still having issues with USB driver if using windows..PT assures me they finally have a fix which should be ready next week. However I have been using it with my squeeze touch via coax input and the sound is articulate with great sound stage. I have the new Von schwiekart vr35 mated to the grand pre using wire world eclipse speaker cable and brushing 7bsst2 mono amps...I think once the driver issue is resolved I will end up being very pleased with the musicality and versatility of the grandpre |
They've released new drivers. The zip files were a little missed up so let me know if you need them. I'm really happy with mine now I need to upgrade my amp. |
Zugisland:
You mention that the remote offers direct access to each input - based on the picture that I saw, this is rather surprising as I thought you'd have to scroll through outputs just like the W4S Dac2. Also, I hope the Power button really turns the unit off/on and not some lesser functionality as is the case for most tube amps. Can you confirm? |
Ejammer, There are 8 individual input buttons on the remote. The power button is marked as standby and the tubes still glow when the unit is in standby. So I would say no the unit does not shut completely off. |
Still havent fixed windows 7 64bit driver yet..but this is the perfect product once they do.. |
Zugisland, how exactly are your driver problems manifesting themselves? I have issues with my GP's USB input on both a Windows 7 machine and my MacBook Pro, and I'm curious to hear details about others' experiences. |
YJ, I have the GP as well, I have had it for about a month. I figured out how to get it going on my Mac Book pro, not too difficult however it did not like Pure Music, kept stopping after 3 or 4 songs. I ditched PM and I am now using the trial version of Amarra and they seem to like each other just fine. My real problems started when I first hooked the GP up with my system and I kept getting hum through the speakers and my mono blocks power meter went crazy. To make a very long story short, after trying all the usual tricks to eliminate a ground loop I have to use both XLR and RCA connections to my amps to eliminate the hum and make my mono blocks happy...Go figure? |
Chairman, I had the same problem with my GP when I first got it hooked up to my amp! And I arrived at the same solution! It was definitely a ground problem with the XLR, because simply tying any of the RCA grounds between the GP and power amp together solved the issue. But that was an iffy B&K amp, and I've since upgraded to a Bryston 4BSST2 (and moved from demo Kimber to higher end AQ cables) , and I have no problems with XLR and I don't have to ground the two thru RCA.
I was curious about Zugisland's driver issue, because my GP was generating severe popping thru the USB input regardless of Windows or Mac computer, and I was curious to hear of any other instances and potential solutions. |
YJ, nice upgrade! I am glad you figured out how to get your GP going with your earlier amp! I am happy with my amps and don't plan on changing them anytime soon so I guess I am stuck with the 2x connection.
Fortunately I have not had the popping noise so I can't help you out there.
Happy listening |
