2. amps-preamps
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Preamp advice needed

I sold my B&W Nautilus 803's here several years ago. I needed the money but I really miss them and very much regret selling them. I have a pair of Nautilus 805's to get me by until I manage to get something closer to my 803s. I also have a Rotel RB1090 2 channel amp that I don't plan on replacing. It's a good amp. My CD player is an Adcom GCD 750. I also have some pretty decent Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables and an M&K V125 sub. For some time now I've been using the preamp side of my Rotel RA-985BX integrated. It's not too bad. But I'd really like to replace it with a nice preamp. I'm not interested in home theatre equipment. I just want a nice 2 channel preamp that I can also connect my sub to. I listen to a very wide variety of music from classical to hard rock. Sometimes it's loud but mostly it's at an average listening level. There are so many choices out there I don't even know where to begin. I'm willing to spend up to around $1000 for something used. I was thinking tube. I had heard a CJ PV10 a long time ago so I was headed in that direction but I never heard it on my equipment. Not sure i'd be happy with tube anyway but maybe I would. Just not enough experience with them and not sure how that would go with what i have now. I have seen some Krell's on here for what seem like good prices. I mention Krell because I had heard some Krell equipment several years ago and liked what I heard. I'm sure that the KRC-3 would blow away the preamp side of my Rotel integrated. And FWIW I love the Krell styling and am a big fan of "Forbidden Planet" LOL. Anyway, I was hoping that I could get some good advice from some people here. When I look for solid pre's in the $1000 range here I see many that I've never even heard the names of before. I don't care about remote control but it could be nice. I do hook my current system up to my video equipment and watch movies in 2 channel so I want enough connections to handle a few line level inputs. I don't need phono. Thanks in advance for any advice. -keith
udo
energizer
113 posts
 
u are correct that there are so many to choose from,it does get confusing.i have a suggestion if u want to try tubes that wont cost you an arm and a leg.you can try a bottle head pre.these are sold as kits.check out the bottlehead.com website.you can find many user reviews.i have seen used pres on both agon and ebay.and i have owned two.they hold their value pretty good, are not expensive,and sound quality is way beyond what is hoped for or expected for the price.
horseface's avatar
horseface
222 posts
 
I would research going to a tubed front end. Possibly an ARC, Cary or Modwright tubed linstage ... at least take a listen. I was running a SS setup for a while with a Rotel amp and once I tried a tube linestage I found it very much to my liking. I was ready to throw in the towel when a friend talked me into trying a tubed front end. I thought it really smoothed out the sound and made my good system sound great.
udo OP
8 posts
 
Energizer: Never occurred to me to go kit. I built quite a few Heathkits when I was a kid and loved it. But I learned quickly that the cost was actually higher that way. So much has to go into laying things out so that anyone can build them, and then all the instructions, etc. Is that not true with bottlehead? I checked out their site. Prices look good. I saw someone actually selling one on here for more than he paid. Seemed odd but maybe I'm still thinking in the Heathkit world.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
If you need a subwoofer output, that will cut the list drastically, even if you just need dual sets of outputs. Do you need a mono or stereo out for the sub? Do you mind dual volume controls? Tube gear is fun but if you're not used to it, stick to newer gear to avoid problems. The PV10 is nice but probably won't fit the bill.
udo OP
8 posts
 
My Rotel RA-985BX integrated doesn't have a separate sub out. I split the output for the speakers. So I guess I could still do that if I had to. Not a big deal. My sub has left/right inputs. I assume when you say dual volume you are talking about 1 for the main and one for the sub? If that's the case, yeah, that would bother me I think.

I know it's over the price I said before but I was thinking about the Conrad-Johnson Premier 17LS line-stage preamp that's listed here. The shop where I got my Rotels and B&W's used to sell CJ and some of the guys there were of the opinion that CJ pre's worked nicely with Rotel amps. And by the way, the RB1090 is not super high end but it's rated quite a bit higher than it would seem. When I had it hooked up to my Nautilus 803's, the soundstage was quite good; not at all flat IMO. I remember people saying that the RB1090 was quite a surprise. Very high quality for $2000 (new).
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