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Thread: Pre Amp suggestions !

  1. #11
    Join Date: May 2010

    Location: Worcestershire, UK

    Posts: 1,101
    I'm Rob.

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    Schiit do a couple of equalizers that are well reviewed and don't break the bank. For example: https://www.schiit.com/products/lokius
    Rob.
    Powered by crossed fingers and clenched buttocks

  2. #12
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Seaton, Devon, UK

    Posts: 13,242
    I'm Adrian.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pure_Carbon View Post
    I've always liked a system with sizzle and snap, as a drummer , need snares and cymbals to sound realistic , tight tuneful bass etc.

    Recently I've suffered a car crash that has lead to loss in the upper mids hearing wise.

    My current 2 x Pres no longer seem to be sounding right.

    The Bryston BP17 cubed has always been fast, but lacks the depth and soundstage i need, and the MBL 5011 has the depth , imaging and soundstage , but is a bit rolled off on the top.
    I would prefer balanced outputs too, but not essential.
    Don't want thin and lean, save that for my women :-)

    So any thoughts?
    I'm a Solid State man, but happy to try a valve pre that offers all I'm looking for.

    Suggestions so far have been ARC Ref 3 or 5 , LS 27.
    TRON
    Ayre
    PS BHK
    Michi P5
    Pass labs.

    Getting hold of decent , not daftly expensive examples to try is difficult.
    Budget is around £5k.
    Just read through this thread and agree with most said by others.

    A new pre-amp is not going to do much if you have hearing loss of particular frequencies. I am quite familiar with this type of problem as my mother gradually lost her hearing in both ears over a period of 40 years due to Meniérs disease, for her she lost different frequency band at different times in each ear. The end result was she lost most hearing in the upper registers, 1000hz and above, 500-1000hz was about 40-60% and below was less impacted. This meant she could here men with deep voices reasonably well but women less so. As time progressed she was prescribed digital hearing aids, initially these were not than configurable but later on in her life they tuned them for each ear to boost the frequencies she was deficient in. But there is a down side in this, if she was in a relative quiet room for example holding a one to one conversation it worked pretty well, but if she was say out in a restaurant with lots of ambient noise and especially if there was higher frequency sound, which was common, then the amplification of this became an unbearable roar in her ears and she would have to turn the hearing aids off.

    I thought the above would maybe help you to consider the issue you may face. I would suggest a simple and not too expensive way to see what impact the equivalent of a multi-band graphic equaliser would have for you is to use some software through your computer streaming some music. Audirvana used to and I believe still has the capability to select and boost/ or lower selected frequency bands, Roon also has the same capability.

    You would need at least a DAC connected to your amplifier that you can connect to your PC/Mac with a USB cable, or alternatively pick up a RaspberyPi with HAT card or DAC that you can connect to your amp and then stream to Volumio(software) running on the RPI from Audirvana or Roon. However you do it you can play around with different frequencies and see it will work for you, and then decide if you want to splash out on a good multi-channel frequency analyser or not.

    I hope that might be of some help. By the way if others are listening with your frequency settings it may sound quite horrible for them.
    Listening is the act of aural discrimination and dissemination of sound, and accepting you get it wrong sometimes.

    Analog Inputs: Pro-Ject Signature 10 TT & arm, Benz Micro LP-S, Michel Cusis MC, Goldring 2500 and Ortofon Rondo Blue cartridges, Hitachi FT5500 mk2 Tuner

    Digital:- Marantz SA-KI Pearl CD player, RaspberryPi/HifiBerry Digi+ Pro, Buffalo NAS Drive

    Amplification:- AudioValve Sunilda phono stage, Krell KSP-7B pre-amp, Krell KSA-80 power amp

    Output: Wilson Benesch Vector speakers, KLH Ultimate One Headphones

    Cables: Tellurium Q Ultra Black II RCA & Chord Epic 2 RCA, various speaker leads, & links


    I think I am nearing audio nirvana, but don’t tell anyone.

  3. #13
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Essex

    Posts: 31,859
    I'm openingabottleofwine.

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    You can get a used two-channel professional Klark Teknik DN360 30 band 1/3 octave equaliser:

    https://www.klarkteknik.com/product....odelCode=P0AGV

    for about £150.
    Barry

  4. #14
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Nottingham

    Posts: 625
    I'm Ian.

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    Even better than the 360 is a klark teknik kt410. Very transparent, I use one after my graaf 13.5bii, which you might want to add to your pre amp list, if you csn find one.

  5. #15
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Nottingham

    Posts: 625
    I'm Ian.

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    Have you tried hearing aids? Boosting the top end or cutting the bottom is going to leave the sound off for everyone else

  6. #16
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Londiniumsville

    Posts: 361
    I'm Robin.

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    Or invest in a top quality set of headphones with an eq in the chain. 5K should cover it given totl cans are around 4K.
    Robin. mit ARC CD9, ARC ref 5 / darTZeel power + magico v2. Clearaudio Innovation wood / Phantom ll / Lyra Atlas / Aurorasound Vida,
    Stax 009S cans.KGGG headamp. all connected with wires. Auralic Aries - Aqua La Scala. Manley Absolute. Focal Stellias. HD800S Hyland headphones - Venus

  7. #17
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Nottingham

    Posts: 625
    I'm Ian.

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    Thinking on about this hypex based power amps might give you the sound you are looking for, i found my nord ncores gave gun fire in movies real snap

  8. #18
    Join Date: Sep 2021

    Location: Cardiff

    Posts: 5
    I'm Neil.

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    I've got hold of a Pass Labs XP30 , and am currently bonding with it.
    Faster than the MBL , more like the Bryston in speed, but with bigger soundstage, and amazing definition , imaging and separation.
    Currently head and shoulders above everything else I've had in the system !
    This may work !

  9. #19
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: west mids, UK

    Posts: 3,268
    I'm Phil.

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    nice , thas a pre amp i would like to hear too
    ou might slip, you might slide, you might
    Stumble and fall by the road side
    But don't you ever let nobody drag your spirit down
    Remember you're walking up to heaven

    Don't let nobody turn you around
    … Walk with the rich, walk with the poor
    Learn from everyone, that's what life is for
    And don't you let nobody drag your spirit down

    Eric Bibb

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