I think the SLP-03 was one of Cary's weaker offerings. The SLP-05 is lightyears better. I'd put it toe to toe with the ARC REF preamps.
Pre-amp upgrade time?
My current system: AR Ref110 tube amp, Cary slp03 pre, Cary cdp1 and ProAc Response D25.
I am getting Sony Hap-Z1ES this weekend.
Music I like is mostly progressive rock and ambient electronic....
Love hearing wide soundstage, well defined instruments, clear vocals smack in the center but also quick, fast, tight bass.
Always tend to gravitate towards tubes but also felt in the past that they sometimes sound too slow and weak.... Wasn't happy with Cary 120 mk2, was OK with Sonic Frontier but didn't care for Pass Aleph 0s.(I know they are SS but sound like tubes).
Overall happy now but also ready for an upgrade..... I think that my amp is the strongest link in my system and while my CDP might be weakest...I think I would get most improvement if I look to upgrade my pre-amp.
What would you recommend and should I try to add SS preamp or stick to tubes?
Thanks
I am getting Sony Hap-Z1ES this weekend.
Music I like is mostly progressive rock and ambient electronic....
Love hearing wide soundstage, well defined instruments, clear vocals smack in the center but also quick, fast, tight bass.
Always tend to gravitate towards tubes but also felt in the past that they sometimes sound too slow and weak.... Wasn't happy with Cary 120 mk2, was OK with Sonic Frontier but didn't care for Pass Aleph 0s.(I know they are SS but sound like tubes).
Overall happy now but also ready for an upgrade..... I think that my amp is the strongest link in my system and while my CDP might be weakest...I think I would get most improvement if I look to upgrade my pre-amp.
What would you recommend and should I try to add SS preamp or stick to tubes?
Thanks
Showing 3 responses by hk_fan
Here's another quote from an interview with Mr. Pass regarding active vs passive preamps: AR: What's your position on passive versus active preamps? NP: You'd think that a minimalist switch and variable resistor in a box would be as good or better than active stages, but often it is not. Some of the issues are well understood; for instance if the resistance value of the potentiometer is low, the source can have bass issues due to the output coupling capacitance and higher distortion due to greater load current. At the other extreme, if the resistance is too high it can create distortion and high frequency issues by presenting a high source impedance to the power amp. Then there are things that don't show up in the usual measurements and we simply observe that the active circuit sounds better than the passive. I file these under "How About That". http://audiophilereview.com/amps/nelson-pass-interview.html |