I have been looking for the right combination for my Salk HT3 since I purchased them used. I was using a LSA Signature integrated amplifier. It had everything I was looking for, silky highs, great midrange and good bass. But at 150 watts a channel I knew that HT3 were capable of more.
Luke, the person I bought the HT3 from had a great combo of a Pass Labs XA30.5 and the Wyred4Sound Preamp. It was as great a combination as my Hybrid integrated and was the exact sound I was looking for. As with all poor audiophiles, me included, budget was going to be an issue. Luke also had the Wyred4Sound SX-1000 mono blocks (570 watts per channel) but I did not like the combination of the mono blocks with their preamp, it sounded too digital to me.
So I sold the integrated at a small lost and determined to be patience with my search. I was able to find a used pair of the Wyred4Sound SX-1000 for a great price so I bought them. Now came the hard part, what preamp to marry with the Wyred4sound amps that would give me that same euphoric feeling of my hybrid integrated. I knew that a tube preamp would be the best combination but which one.
After researching and reading various reviews I came across a used Joule-Electra LA-150 MKII. I did not know much about this preamp but after reading several reviews I thought this might make a great match with the Wyred4Sound.
Bingo! I found the sound that I was looking for. The power of the Wyred4sound and the Joule was a match made in heaven. Not only did I retain the silky highs and the great midrange but the power and quality of the bass brought the whole listening experience to a brand new level. Source is handled by the Esoteric DV-50 universal player.
This is my first Class D amp and it is spectacular with the Joule, probably the finest preamp I have ever heard. I feel pretty content, oh yeah I paid less than $3,100.00 shipped for both pieces.
Time to go back to the music.
