Can it get better?
Seeking the advice of folks who have experienced significant gains when moving from an integrated amp to separate pre and power. I realize there are several threads on the topic but specifically, I’d be concerned about a lateral move in terms of sound quality while dishing out close to 2x what I purchased my integrated for. For example, my system consists of a Pass Labs Int-25 driving Harbeth Shl5+ 40th anniversaries. It’s a combination that gives coherent and smooth sound yet is quite resolving.
Why change? For one, I would like to experiment with different power for the Harbeths and am intrigued by some of the class d options out there. The Pass was about 5k and some of the pre and power combinations I’m considering would push the cost north of 10k. There are a number of well designed preamps out there in the 5k range that I could see serving me for many years. Assuming good synergy with the power amp, is there good reason to believe that separates would sound significantly better than the little Pass which has system synergy built in? In what way? Or would I have to venture into a higher tier in terms of cost?
thanks for the advice
Brian
Bring on the worms. 😉 Can you expect a significant drop in noise when separating the power supply and circuitry of the power amp from the preamp? A pre that I’m interested in seems to have a stout power supply and lots of capacitance. Not sure how a design like this gets out of its own way. Very positively reviewed though. |
The order with increased sound quality is integrated, single box components and finally two box components (separating the power supply from main components… or mono block amplifiers).
I can attest to increasing sound quality with each step. In one instance I owned a $8K Sim Moon DAC / CD player for several years and then purchased the matching add on $8K power supply. The sound character did not change… but wow… the background noice just dropped greatly, opened up the sound stage and revealed many more details. Big difference. This was worth it for me… for some I am sure it would not be.
I currently own a a Audio Research REF 160s amplifier. For fun I had my dealer drop off the Ref 160m .. exact same amp…. But in monoblocks…. two halves split. Does it sound better… yes. Night and day, no. Quieter more dynamic. Worth the extra $12K… depends on your financial condition. If mine improves, I’ll probably upgrade. I can go on… the best sound comes from real assaults at the state of the art… isolation and separate function. |
@voodoochillin You do realise there are much better integrated amps than your pre/power considerations... |
Thanks. I’m here to learn so feel free to go on. No pressure! |
