Soulution 520 Preamp

Alpinist

Alpinist

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I was just wondering if anyone here had experience with the Soulution 520 preamp? I'm trying to get an idea of how much of a bump I'll get in performance if I put one in front of my Soulution 501 monos. Right now I'm running directly from my Esoteric K-01 to the Soulution 501's and I have to say, it sounds pretty darn good.

Ken
 
I always prefer a preamp in the system. I feel I get more musicality, air and dimension. I have not heard the Soulution gear, but there are a few members here who own it and always speak highly of it. I am sure it will be amazing.
 
Ken, I've heard it many times, it's a great pre !

David has even paired it with the Hegel H30 and said it was fabulous :celebrate008_2:

I'm sure Kev will chime in, he loves his.
 
Thanks guys! I took a long road trip to audition the 520 / 501 combo yesterday. The dealer connected the 540 player directly to the 501's and then introduced the 520 in the signal chain. The improvement was significant; increased transparency, nuance, texture, musicality and dynamics. The 520 is a wonderful sounding preamp! Hopefully, this will be a 2015 addition to my system.

Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Thanks guys! I took a long road trip to audition the 520 / 501 combo yesterday. The dealer connected the 540 player directly to the 501's and then introduced the 520 in the signal chain. The improvement was significant; increased transparency, nuance, texture, musicality and dynamics. The 520 is a wonderful sounding preamp! Hopefully, this will be a 2015 addition to my system.

On an interesting side note for the 501 owners out there, the dealer stated that he had the 701 monoblocks in his showroom but didn't care for their sound. Consequently, he sent them back to Soulution. He said that he much prefers the sound of the 501's...go figure.

Ken
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Ken, it really is a gem of a pre-amp & I love mine, but i also liked these when I heard them yesterday too. The rest of the system wasn't too shabby either!




 
bzr said:
Ken, it really is a gem of a pre-amp & I love mine, but i also liked these when I heard them yesterday too. The rest of the system wasn't too shabby either!




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Wow Kev,

That is one heckuva system! Wouldn't you love to slide that into your living room. :) Thanks for the feedback on the 520. It seems like this decision is turning into a no brainer.

Best,
Ken
 
... your welcome, but alas, I'd have to buy a new house & rewire everything to get up to this pay grade. The power is straight to the system on a seperate line from the road.
 
Hey Everyone,

My Soulution 520 Preamp is in the house! I'm so excited that it came today. I can't wait to place it in my system with the Esoteric K-01, Soulution 501's and Revel Salon 2's. The timing worked out nicely because I'll get to listen with the Salon 2's for several days before I add the Raidho D3's. Much more fun to add one component at a time to hear the difference each new component makes.

Best,
Ken
 
Congrats Ken!

I can't believe you're being this patient with the new speakers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike said:
Congrats Ken!

I can't believe you're being this patient with the new speakers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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LOL Mike. Hopefully they'll be in my system sometime next week. In the meantime I get to play with my new Soulution 520 and see what it adds to my existing system. That should keep my mind off the tall boxes sitting in the corner of my room. ;)

Best,
Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Hey Everyone,

My Soulution 520 Preamp is in the house! I'm so excited that it came today. I can't wait to place it in my system with the Esoteric K-01, Soulution 501's and Revel Salon 2's. The timing worked out nicely because I'll get to listen with the Salon 2's for several days before I add the Raidho D3's. Much more fun to add one component at a time to hear the difference each new component makes.

Best,
Ken
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Fantastic Ken !!
You're going about it the right way.
 
Congrats Ken. What a world class system you've assembled. Enjoy the music!
 
Ritmo said:
Congrats Ken. What a world class system you've assembled. Enjoy the music!
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Hey, thanks Mike! With all the gear that's been flying in and out of here lately, there are still a lot of loose ends to tie up. Cables, granite bases, dedicated lines, grounding, isolation, etc. But once I address the first two, I can take my time on the last three.

Best,
Ken
 
Congrats, Ken . I hope it's way better than you expect.
 
Alpinist said:
Hey Everyone,

My Soulution 520 Preamp is in the house! I'm so excited that it came today. I can't wait to place it in my system with the Esoteric K-01, Soulution 501's and Revel Salon 2's. The timing worked out nicely because I'll get to listen with the Salon 2's for several days before I add the Raidho D3's. Much more fun to add one component at a time to hear the difference each new component makes.

Best,
Ken
Click to expand...

Ken, I predict many late nights for you. Congrats on the system coming together. You've been waiting for this day! I just moved my Soulution 530 from Chicago to Austin. Thought that would make me a happy camper. I was until David afforded me the opportunity pre out into his 501's. Wow I never thought using the 520 pre inside the 530 into the 501's would make such a difference! It is so much better. Clear step up. The 501's in this somewhat smaller room in Austin sound great on the Raidho D2's.

Keep us informed on how the D3's sound with the 520/501 combo when you get it set up.

I'd love to hear your impressions on the Salons too, when you come up for air :)
 
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Odyssey said:
Ken, I predict many late nights for you. Congrats on the system coming together. You've been waiting for this day! I just moved my Soulution 530 from Chicago to Austin. Thought that would make me a happy camper. I was until David afforded me the opportunity pre out into his 501's. Wow I never thought using the 520 pre inside the 530 into the 501's would make such a difference! It is so much better. Clear step up. The 501's in this somewhat smaller room in Austin sound great on the Raidho D2's.

Keep us informed on how the D3's sound with the 520/501 combo when you get it set up.

I'd love to hear your impressions on the Salons too, when you come up for air :)
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Thanks Le Roy!

I just placed the Soulution 520 in my system with the Kimber KS-1116 interconnects between my K-01 and the 520. The 520 is just out of the box and I am already hearing a substantial improvement over running direct from the K-01 to the Soulution 501's. There is an increased smoothness and natural warmth to the sound. Vocals on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (192 kHz/24 bit WAV) sound absolutely liquid. I was not expecting this sort of improvement right out of the box. It sounds much better than the system I auditioned it on. I am mightily impressed with the 520.

I'm glad to hear that you had the chance to run the 530 as a preamp with the 501's. The 501's are indeed very special amps. Do you think you might add them to the stable? I bet it sounds outrageous with the D2's. It's going to be several days before I get the D3's set up. I'll let you know when they're up and running.

All the best,
Ken
 
Ken, congrats! That's a great system you have assembled there. Happy listening!:audiophile:
 
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