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Upgrading to Tube; Amp or Preamp

I am currently looking to upgrade my existing system a piece at a time. I currently have a set of Vandersteen 2ce Sigs, VPI mkIII w/RB250 Origin Mod w/Dynavector cartidge, Adcom 565 Preamp, Adcom 555 mkII w/Musical Concept mod, and a Rega Planet CD. I have a rather small listening room, 15x18 w/vaulted ceilings and want to migrate to tube gear. I have heard the Rogue 120 amps and 99 preamp on the Vandersteens and thought they sounded marvelous.

I am into analogue mostly classical, jazz, and some rock. My budget is in the $2000 dollar range and since I want to get as big a bang for the big would it be best to replace the Preamp or Amp. The Adcom gear is a little too bright and the soundstage and imaging are not near (imagine that)what I heard with the Rogue combo. I like the Vandersteens alot but have heard that they get a little too laid back with tube gear. My aim is to put about two to three thousand in my system a year until my wife stops me.

Look forward to the suggestions, oh yeah getting rid of my wife is not an option (ha, ha).
rav1952

Showing 2 responses by stlouisdan

stlouisdan
5 posts
 
I have Vandy 2C's with an ARC SP-8 preamp and D-115
ARC amp. Great mating with the speakers with outstanding imaging and midrange..plenty of bass for me, but the highs seem a little rolled off compared to other systems I've heard. Stress on the word "little". So far, I haven't messed with CD's.

The D-115 is great . The only problem I've had is that I bought it with used tubes and replaced the original set with a used set from ARC...every time one of the 6550's goes out, the amp has to go to the shop because it takes out a resistor too. This has happened twice in 10 years. Guess that's not too bad, but some may think differently. Have given some consideration to trading it in for a D-70, but will probably keep coughing up the money because I love the sound. The SP-8 is a jewel. Hardly any problems at all with it. Mates well with my alternate amp, a souped up Dyna St 70. Both the ARC products would probably fit your budget in the used market.
stlouisdan
5 posts
 
Vandy's not laid back. I forgot to add that matching the ARC stuff to my Vandy 2C's are anythything but laid back. If you've got muscular, ballsy stuff on the front end, it'll sound stupendous with this combo.

Two examples come to mind. Mercury's old SR with Prokovieff's Love for 3 oranges and Sythian Suite smacks you right in the gut in the lower ranges. I also play a lot of Grateful Dead that come on mere cassette tapes. Amazing how faithful the recreation to concert sound. Rocks great with slamming bass!

Sorry, I'm not much help on what to replace first. I do know that my D-115 II is out now and with my Hillig modified ST 70, I can still get great dynamics, presence, and bass but I have to kick up the preamp a bit more. Still not as good as having both ARC products working though.

Good luck and have fun with your explorations.
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