2. amps-preamps
  3. 174626-141211

the cart or the horse?

I currently own a Parasound ZAMP, Denon PRA-1500 preamp, and Omega 7's speakers. I stream through a Bluesound Node 2i.  All this resides in a home office of approx 15x10. 

I am not happy with the sound and do not know which component to attack first. There is a lack of presence and body and the sound is well.......boring. I listen to jazz at low volumes and would like your opinion on what to work on first. 

Replace amp,preamp, or speakers? The cart or the horse? My budget is very modest but am willing to go step by step. 

All my best,

Andy

wavendon
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,236 posts
 

@jmolsberg 

have tried many amps w my Omega RS5 and the most engaging and full bodied are zero feedback low powered SET

I see that the amplifier in your link utilize the Lundahl output transformers, high quality for certain.  This the point I was making in my previous post.  You'll get more in the long term with these more expensive but higher quality tube amplifiers.  The quality of the output transformer and power supply literally make or break these types of lower power tube amplifiers. 

Charles 

tweak1
3,561 posts
 

Upgrade your amp: https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/lsa-amplifiers The LSA Warp One has gotten excellent reviews, and there’s one FS on Agon for a silly cheap price or the sweet tube amp.  ALSO, Underwood HiFi sells the Audio GD dac pre/headphone https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/audio-gd

R28 (2022 version) Balanced remote preamp with resistor ladder DAC & 9.5wpc headphone amp
$1499.00

 

jmolsberg's avatar
jmolsberg
467 posts
 

could not agree more mr. charles. the higher quality the amp the better the omega will shine. there is certain delicate balance finding synergy with any single driver speaker but when it's achieved you are in for a real treat! 

wavendon OP
5 posts
 

Wow....I really appreciate this thread and all of the participants. I think I will proceed with the Musical Paradise amp and give my current setup to my son. 

Cheers to all of you....

onebean
17 posts
 

@wavendon 

@charles1dad makes an excellent point on the Leben 300 and Luxman SQ N150. As I mentioned in my PM, I'm a big fan of EL84's, and these 2 pieces have been on my radar for a while. I'd love to spend some time with both of them. I don't know much about the Musical Paradise amp, but the value seems high. I doubt you can go to wrong with MP, and it will likely help you understand the potential of your system, and help you refine what your end system goal might be. In particular, I think the Leben 300 could be a life long piece of gear for me. I just love tube integrated amps. Follow up and let us know how you like the MP. Also, spend some time on speaker placement to maximize your systems potential. There are some great youtube videos that explain speaker set up. It made a world of difference in my system. Also, don't forget to plan some budget for cabling. You don't need to spend a bunch of money. There are quite a few nice cheaper offerings from Audioquest, Anticables, Blue Jean cables, and many more including DIY recipes.     

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