A 5800 is pretty nice. It would take a quality pre-amp to out-perform it. If you want to play, buy something like a creek obh-12. You should be able to find a used one and resell for a similar price($175?).
Value of inexpensive linestage preamps?
Hi,
After a brief period away from "hi-end audio" I have started building a system again. Because of budget constraints I am having to do it one piece at a time. I recently got a good deal on a Conrad Johnson Premier 11A. Unfortunatly I don't have a proper preamp and won't be able to afford one for a while. I am currently using my hometheater receiver (Denon 5800) in "direct" mode as my preamp, the sound is not terrible. My question is, would one of the small, simple $300.00 to $400.00 tube preamps be worth spending my money on while saving for something better? Would the improvement over the Denon be worth the expence?
Emilio
After a brief period away from "hi-end audio" I have started building a system again. Because of budget constraints I am having to do it one piece at a time. I recently got a good deal on a Conrad Johnson Premier 11A. Unfortunatly I don't have a proper preamp and won't be able to afford one for a while. I am currently using my hometheater receiver (Denon 5800) in "direct" mode as my preamp, the sound is not terrible. My question is, would one of the small, simple $300.00 to $400.00 tube preamps be worth spending my money on while saving for something better? Would the improvement over the Denon be worth the expence?
Emilio