Pre advice

CornellAlum · « **on:** 7 Apr 2006, 08:03 pm »

I know nothing about pres, never had one in my system. That said, I need to get one to mate with my very new modified iceamp thanks to ric

Any suggestions on what I should be looking into? I wil have to buy site unseen due to being in Iowa, so start shooting suggestions, and I will start reading. I would love to just get a benchmark dac, but alas, no remote. That would be a requirement! Any similar alternatives? Thanks!

zybar · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 08:59 pm »

Quote from: CornellAlum

I know nothing about pres, never had one in my system. That said, I need to get one to mate with my very new modified iceamp thanks to ric

Any suggestions on what I should be looking into? I wil have to buy site unseen due to being in Iowa, so start shooting suggestions, and I will start reading. I would love to just get a benchmark dac, but alas, no remote. That would be a requirement! Any similar alternatives? Thanks!

Put some tubes (Modwright or Dodd come to mind) in front of the ICE amp to flesh it out and give it some soul or geta fully modified Squueze Box with Wayne's best PS.

George

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 09:05 pm »

Hard to beat a Modwright....its excellent. Another....SAS Audio 10A.

I'll add this...tvyankee's Rave with digital amps....

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=21986&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80[/list:u]

Tweaker · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 09:12 pm »

Vincent Audio is being carried by The Audio Advisor which has a generous return policy. Vincent has a full line of tube hybrids that look very interesting. Here's the link:
http://audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=VINCSAT1S&product_name=SAT-1%20Hybrid%20Vacuum%20Tube%20Stereo%20Preamplifier

CornellAlum · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 09:27 pm »

Thanks for al the help, it's going to be a long night

Keep em coming!

D~

kfr01 · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 09:47 pm »

You're in IC?

Have you visited Ref AV or Hawkeye Audio?

The folks at both stores are usually pretty good about allowing potential customers to listen.

You'd be able to get a flavor for the sound that brands such as Arcam, Rotel, Musical Fidelity, B&K, Integra, Anthem, and Classe provide.

If you aren't going FLAC / Computer audio yet, I'm going to second the Squeezebox suggestion. It'll provide you with a high end transport/dac/and preamp all in one package. If your current front-end is low to mid-fi, going with a SB is probably the best upgrade you could make.

CornellAlum · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 10:30 pm »

I was in hawkeye once, didn't feel that great about going in, but maybe I will try again. I already have a modified squeezebox from Wayne!

kfr01 · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 11:11 pm »

Quote from: CornellAlum

I was in hawkeye once, didn't feel that great about going in, but maybe I will try again. I already have a modified squeezebox from Wayne!

Cornell: I hear you regarding Hawkeye; they make that place about as unfriendly as possible. I think they've made a lot of money the last few years doing HT installs in new construction. They don't seem to care much about selling one component.

If you already have an analog modded SB I highly doubt a preamp will do much for you. IMO a preamp should be a neutral volume control. You already have one of those on the SB, I doubt you stand to "gain" much by making a lateral upgrade. (no pun intended)

p.s. - you should link up your System so other posters know what you have already in discussions like this.

toobluvr · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Apr 2006, 09:33 pm »

JuicyMusic Peach will provide a good dose of the ol' tube magic, and will do so for very reasonable money.

Probably a bit more "tooby" and colorful sounding than the other recs here.

http://www.juicymusicaudio.com/index.html

JLM · « **Reply #9 on:** 9 Apr 2006, 12:05 am »

I believe modding the SB cuts the output to 1.09 volts, so an active pre-amp would help boost the signal up to the standard 2 volt input to the amp. The highly detailed/fast digital amps benefit from adding some tube soul. How much is a judgement call. 8 pin tubes are warmer and more magical. 5687 tubes in SRPP are supposed to be one of the best options to retain speed with great presence/musicality and some warmth.

See current pre-amp thread around here. Space Tech and Mapletree are affordable places to start. Cary and Wright are also good choices.

GHM · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Apr 2006, 12:19 am »

I found this review while doing some research for another member. This guys review is spot on! These headamps make terrific preamps! Single Power PPX SLAM. It doesn't have remote unfortunetly. You might be able to use your volume control of the SB3 and use this unit as a gain stage...just a thought. There's nothing like dynamic tubes in the mix. WARNING!!! Once you go this route you may never look back.

Good luck

CornellAlum · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Apr 2006, 02:14 am »

I bet I can use the sb3. I found a ton of tube amps on ebay last night direct from China that are basically the vincent amps without the correct name. It appears the sheng ya units are the exact same units as the vincent. Any comments on this stuff?