[2chlover]

Hello guys I was directed to come here by some folks at HT forums. I am in the process of doing a major upgrade to my 2ch system which resides in my home office/listening room. So far I have already decided on most of the gear I am going with but I am stuck with preamps. This is the gear I have already decided on:

Harbeth HL-Compact 7ES-3 Speakers (I originally was looking at the Super HL5 but I found the two to sound the same in midrange and highs so I would rather use the $1500 difference to buy 2 small sealed stereo subs)
SVS SB-12 Plus x2
Denon DVD-2930CI universal player
Music Hall MMF-9.1 package w/ Goldring Eroica LX
Benchmark DAC-1 USB to connect to my music server in office
Yamaha P2500S 2ch amp
Behringer DCX2496 to handle proper crossover with subs and help with room peaks and bumps along with treatments

Now this leaves me roughly $1300 give or take for a new or used preamp. I would like one with balanced pre-outs as the DCX and amp are balanced but I could always add a transformer to convert the signal to unbalanced. I have been looking at the Parasound Halo P3 but I don't know how to go about hooking up the dual subs to it. Since the DCX will be handling the crossover I was told I might not need anything to go from it to the preamp. So if anyone could help with my connection problem or recommend another preamp that can solve the issue I would appreciate it immensely. Here is a picture of the back of the P3 just in case anyone knows about a connection I am missing which can help.

http://www.parasound.com/img/halo/p3_rear_big.jpg

Thank you

[denjo]

Hi 2chlover
There is one option you might consider, as a suggestion: rather than have a separate preamp, separate DAC and presumably separate phono pre, you could save $$$$ on the separates and invest in a one-box preamp which largely does all of that, without compromising audio quality. The cost of power cords, interconnects you save will depend on how much you are prepared to pay for cables - more or less.

There appears to be an increasing trend for audio manufacturers to have a "one box" solution that will provide for all these other features. Bryston, which has a good reputation and 20-year warranty on their products, is just one of many audio manufacturers that you might consider should you be inclined to follow the "less is more" approach. I am sure others can chime to provide alternatives.

Best Regards
Dennis

Ps, the real estate space you save is also quite considerable - no clutter!

[2chlover]

Hi 2chlover
There is one option you might consider, as a suggestion: rather than have a separate preamp, separate DAC and presumably separate phono pre, you could save $$$$ on the separates and invest in a one-box preamp which largely does all of that, without compromising audio quality. The cost of power cords, interconnects you save will depend on how much you are prepared to pay for cables - more or less.

There appears to be an increasing trend for audio manufacturers to have a "one box" solution that will provide for all these other features. Bryston, which has a good reputation and 20-year warranty on their products, is just one of many audio manufacturers that you might consider should you be inclined to follow the "less is more" approach. I am sure others can chime to provide alternatives.

Best Regards
Dennis

Ps, the real estate space you save is also quite considerable - no clutter!

I did think about that which would actually allow for the preamp budget to increase to over $2000 but I was worried about DAC quality and USB support. I do not want to run optical from PC to preamp as I have encountered electronic noise from this in my HT setup. Now if I could find a preamp with USB as well that would be a godsend. I already have a phono pre from old system but if I can find a good preamp with MC I could sell my phono pre and use it towards the preamp. I will check out the Bryston preamps you recommended, thank you.