Thinking about upgrading my preamp...

chops

chops

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I'm currently running a Parasound Halo P5 preamp. It has served me quite well over the past 3+ years since purchased new. It has done everything I've asked it to do and I have had no issues with it. With that being said, I think I could better these days with a new preamp.

I'm looking at preamps at a max of about $1800. It needs to have at least one balanced input and one balanced output as well as a pair of SE outputs. A built-in DAC isn't exactly crucial but may prove beneficial as I use the one in the P5 for my Roku. It doesn't even need a built-in phono preamp as I can get a Schitt Mani pre fairly cheap. Heck, even a Modi for that matter for the Roku. Though it would be a lot cleaner in the rack without having a bunch of extra components.

What I have been looking at so far is the new Parasound Halo P6. It's supposed to be a decent upgrade from the P5, not to mention it uses that 128 stepped resistor volume control. Another strong contender is the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC with its gain cell volume control.

Right now, I'm actually leaning more towards the PS Audio. And of course, if you guys/gals have any other recommendations, please share them with me. Many thanks in advance!

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IMO the best sounding preamp under $2K is the Wyred4Sound STP-SE
 
I guess you could say the STP-SE is "under" $2k, at $1999. LOL

I totally forgot about W4S, and that is a great preamp that shoots above its price point, which is the theme of my system. I'll have to read up on it again.

Any other suggestions fellas? I'm all ears!

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Charles let me start by asking you what qualities are important to you in the reproduction of the music you listen to? Maybe with some simple info we can guide you to the options that are best suited to your audio tastes.
 
Check out the NAD C568, I believe msrp is $1500. I haven't heard one but several places sell with return policy.

Really though, in sub $2k I have to wonder if you'd gain enough improvement to make a switch worth while.
 
nc42acc said:
Charles let me start by asking you what qualities are important to you in the reproduction of the music you listen to? Maybe with some simple info we can guide you to the options that are best suited to your audio tastes.
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I prefer a nice and natural or neutral sound overall. A solid, tight bottom end, midrange with good presence and openness, and an airy, detailed top end with just a bit a warmth so it stays silky and smooth. I don't like hyper-detail, analytical, etchy sound, or dry and lean bass and midrange.

A better way of putting it essentially would be bi-amping with a traditional solid state amp for the bass, a hybrid SS/tube amp for the midrange, and a tube amp for the treble... If that makes any sense.

I would love to have a tube preamp honestly, but considering I leave my system up and running 24/7, a tube preamp wouldn't be the right choice.
 
Mr Peabody said:
Check out the NAD C568, I believe msrp is $1500. I haven't heard one but several places sell with return policy.

Really though, in sub $2k I have to wonder if you'd gain enough improvement to make a switch worth while.
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I'm assuming you mean the NAD C510.

I too was thinking that, that it would be a sideways move. But... I think the major upgrade in the volume control in the two preamps mentioned in my first post alone would be a healthy improvement. My Halo P5 uses a simply analog volume pot.
 
Charles so you need both RCA and XLR inputs and sounds like at least two outputs for biamping?

chops said:
I prefer a nice and natural or neutral sound overall. A solid, tight bottom end, midrange with good presence and openness, and an airy, detailed top end with just a bit a warmth so it stays silky and smooth. I don't like hyper-detail, analytical, etchy sound, or dry and lean bass and midrange.

A better way of putting it essentially would be bi-amping with a traditional solid state amp for the bass, a hybrid SS/tube amp for the midrange, and a tube amp for the treble... If that makes any sense.

I would love to have a tube preamp honestly, but considering I leave my system up and running 24/7, a tube preamp wouldn't be the right choice.
Click to expand...
 
nc42acc said:
Charles so you need both RCA and XLR inputs and sounds like at least two outputs for biamping?
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Marty, I would need two sets of outputs, one pair of the subs, one pair (preferably XLR) for the amps. And if I decide to keep the Oppo 105D, possibly at least one set of XLR inputs. I guess I wouldn't really "need" to run balanced, but it is nice to have it and use it.
 
Charles here is an option that is a little different. It is a Hattor passive preamp with a buffer. Not everyones cup of tea but I have the fully passive version and am waiting on the version with the buffer. My only gripe with the fully passive version is you lose some of the dynamics but the transparency is amazing. Just an option with the other great suggestions. http://www.hattor.com/
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I really like that Hattor preamp, Marty.

I wish their site went into detail on the various options they offer (Takman REX, REY) as well as the active options (OPA2134, NewClassD), not to mention, I don't understand what the real difference is between stereo and dual mono mode. Either way, you have two channels with stereo information going through both.

I know that Vishay and Takman are resistors, but they could at least explain differences in sound, likewise with the opamps and NewClassD.
 
Charles the person behind Hattor is Arek Kallas and he is very good about answering questions. If you are interested please send him an email and I am sure he will respond. He is located in Poland so remember the time difference. Good luck.
 
Marty, before I contact Arek, I still want to look at other options as well, but thanks for the info. I'm definitely keeping the Hattor in mind.
 
Charles there are many options out there. The W4S option looks like an amazing bargain in a preamp. Those guys keep churning out great products. Good luck.

chops said:
Marty, before I contact Arek, I still want to look at other options as well, but thanks for the info. I'm definitely keeping the Hattor in mind.
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Funny no one says anything about the two I mentioned, especially the PS Audio. The Stellar Gain Cell DAC preamp is supposed to be quite the heavy hitter.

Another preamp I was looking at was the Schiit Freya. Yes it uses tubes, but at one point, Schiit produced solid state tube replacements for the 6SN7's. Those SS replacements were said to actually sound pretty good, but they are now hard to get a hold of, and as far as I know, no one else makes SS replacements. And the only reason I would want those SS replacements again is because I leave my system running 24/7.

Thinking about it more however, I supposed I'm highly limiting myself by completely ruling out tube preamps. If I found a tube preamp that didn't have any kind of turn-on/off thump, I could still leave the amps on. It's a bit of a pain to the amps on and off considering the power switch is on the back panels, and they're on the bottom shelf.
 
Oly said:
IMO the best sounding preamp under $2K is the Wyred4Sound STP-SE
Click to expand...

I really enjoyed the STP-SE when I had mine. Recently purchased a used Stage 2 STP-SE. It's stellar. WAAAAY better than the regular version. I absolutely love it.
 
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