Preamp advice for pioneer a400

[Nickfna]

Hi all

After recently buying a Allo boss dac to replace the iqaudi one i decided to do some amplifier swapping as i am getting a little
bit underwelmed by the sq the Roksan kandy was giving me. So after listening to my old Sony TA-FB940r for a while i decided
to get the Pioneer a400 out of the loft, now ive got to say the sq from the a400 is very good but it has no Remote control which
is a bit of a pain with digital music as the sound levels vary wildly between different files.

So the question is has anybody got any advice or recommendations for a preamp or intergrated with remote to use with the a400 as a power amp.
Budget needs to be cheap and cheerful(up to maybe 150 quid) as i will be making some serious investment(for me) in a new amplifier and phono stage in the new year.

Thanks in advance
Nick.

[Opti-cal]

Hi Nick,

not sure if its exactly what you're looking for but I've just got one of these. It's effectively just a motorised volume relay (but a pretty good one). No sound signature as such but the remote is top notch and the display function is very handy. Tells you source channel and volume. Also has a useful "set" feature which brings the volume to a low level instantly as well as a mute and standby mode. Looks pretty neat too.

Mine came from China in 1 week and customs were an additional £25, so in total it was under your £150 budget.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33015826815.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.602e4c4dFc4 EVA

Cheers,

Chris

[Nickfna]

thanks Chris

that does look interesting and just what i'm after, 25 quid custom charge is a right rip tho.

[Opti-cal]

Agreed it is a bit steep but I just look at the overall value of the item or compare it to an equivalent elsewhere, which would be considerably more.

It is how it is but a decent pre-amp with a nice remote for less than 150, thems the facts.

It certainly does the job for me and is at least on a par with some boxes I have that were substantially more cash!

[Nickfna]

Thanks Chris

Yeah your right about getting a decent preamp with remote for under 150 is nothing to be stiffed at, but being
a bit of a cheapskate ive taken a punt on one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vision-Techaudio-AV-1700-2-Channel-4-Input-Audio-Amplifier-Remote-Control/283666735013?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Considering the newer model is 137 quid i hope it will tide me over till the new year.

[Opti-cal]

Cool, I know the position you are in well and I've got a fair amount of kit which I wouldn't have in a "proper" system but which has certainly served a purpose and kept me ticking over as it were.

Just be sure that "sub/record out" output (which I'm assuming you will be putting into the pioneer) is the same thing as a pre-amp output. Can't see why its not the same but sometimes these things are designed a little differently.

Will be funto hear how it sounds as a main amp too seeing as it has output terminals etc, you might be surprised!

[Nickfna]

Saw this in the blurb before i pulled the plug.

Flexible Inputs and Output: The Vision AV-1700 has 4 stereo inputs (via Phono (RCA) connectors) that can accept input from a variety of sources including computer laptops and DVD players and the Vision AV-1700 amplifier features an line-level pre-output, which feeds the input to a subwoofer for bass reinforcement, or a tape recorder recording, or even to another AV-1700 or larger amplifier for more power and Inputs! Comes with input and output cables so its is ready for use out of the box.
So it should be ok.

Will be fun playing around with it during the festive session:rolleyes: rather than being stuck in front of the tv.