2. amps-preamps
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Solid State Preamp recommendation for $2500?

Hi,

I am looking for some Solid State preamp recommendations. My budget is up to $2500, new or used, perhaps could be stretched to $3000 for something really special. I have fairly neutral, easygoing equipment (upgraded McCormack amp and Tyler Acoustics speakers) and like to listen to all kinds of music, but primarily jazz, classical, electronic, and some rock.

Due to changing circumstances in my system (or rather discoveries) I have pretty much determined that a solid state preamp is the only thing that will work in my system. I have an amp and speaker combo that puts out some serious white noise from tube preamps (I have tried 4 so far, all with the same results, and all preamps were OK in other systems). I have tried 2 solid state preamps, both were dead quiet. So, it is either get rid of the amp, or get a solid-state preamp. As my amplifier is a McCormack DNA-125 rev Gold, I would take a serious hit if I were to sell it, and it sounds pretty darn good. I am guessing I would have to spend alot more than the $2200 I have into it to get comparable performance. Unfortunately, I love tube preamps, but am totally fed up with background hiss that is audible at 15 feet and muddies the music.

I did hear a Classe CP-700 recently that sounded wonderful, but it overshoots my budget, and I can't help but think I am paying for features that I don't need, like the cool but (for me) useless interface). I just want a nice 2-channel preamp, old-school/no remote is fine.
dawgcatching

Showing 5 responses by dawgcatching

dawgcatching OP
139 posts
 
Here is what I have tried:

Herron VTSP1a/166: super loud in my system, hiss could be heard in the next room. Unit was checked out by Keith twice, yet he couldn't find a problem. BTW, Keith is a great guy to deal with

Eastern Electric Minimax: both NOS and stock tubes: nearly as loud as the Herron, hiss easily heard at the listening position.

Dehavilland Ultraverve: quieter, but not quiet. Still getting hiss from time to time. I swapped tubes around, which minimized it. Using a Tung-Sol Black Glass 6SN7 originally, which was dead quiet in another system, but made a loud hiss in mine, so I did find a Hytron that is mostly quiet. Still, this is regarded as one of the quietest preamps on the market tube-wise.

There is definitely an incompatibility with the McCormack and the preamps I have tried that have been tube. I know it shouldn't necessarily be the case, but it has proven to be, which is why I am limiting myself to solid-state units at this time. I would rather hear a quiet solid state unit than a nice tube preamp with hiss in the background. I haven't tried any specific low-noise tubes, but the ones in the Dehavilland were supposedly low-noise NOS.
dawgcatching OP
139 posts
 
Dtc,

Is the CP-65 essentially the same (sound-wise) as the CP-700? If so, I would likely be happy with it, as I don't need the CP-700's slick features. The outboard power supply was nice, however, and the unit sounded superior.

Any idea how the others mentioned sound compared to the CP-700? That is really the only nice SS preamp that has been in my system.
dawgcatching OP
139 posts
 
Guido,

do you recommend the separate power supply with the Rowland? It is on my radar, as it gets many recommendations, and may be the type of clean, neutral sound I am looking for.

I see tons of Capri's listed, one going up seemingly every other day, which makes me wonder if this preamp is very system-dependent. Strange for such a highly-regarded preamp to be so common on the used market. There aren't any Rowland dealers around here: I called one 2-channel specialist in the area who was listed as a Rowland dealer, but they are no longer stocking.
dawgcatching OP
139 posts
 
Update: I got my hands on a Dehavilland to try out, and it was noisy as well. Luckily, there were some other NOS tubes around to try, so I swapped in a Hytron 6SN7 and, for once, my system is quiet! Wow, does it sound good!

I may just go the Dehavilland route! According to Kara, it mates much better with very sensitive amps such as the McCormack. I am going to get a good SS unit in here to compare it with. The Dehavilland's soundstage is incredible and very realistic, but from what I can hear, the Classe was more taut in the low end. Also, on the Dehavilland, some trumpets come across as screechy: I am not sure if it was recorded this way and I just wasn't hearing it before. I heard slightly more detail on the Classe (like violiin strings reverberating that aren't quite there on the Dehavilland).

Thanks for all of the responses. It gives me something to work with if I do decide to get a solid state unit. I wish I had known about the possible incompatibility with a sensitive amp and a tube preamp before I went preamp hunting: then again, the journey is always fun!
dawgcatching OP
139 posts
 
Sbank,

Yes, I did discuss the problem with both Steve and Kris at SMC, and they had me do a couple of tests on the amp. We pretty much concluded it wasn't any fault of the amp, but neither could put their finger on it (it was recently upgraded by them, and they didn't hear any sound issues when they had it).

It has been a long time since I have had a different amplifier in my system, but I bet the low sensitivity of the McCormack has something to do with it.
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