[milpai]

Hi,

My first post, since I discovered this forum pretty recently. I frequent the Asylums and Audiogon a lot - with the same moniker (milpai). I am itching for an upgrade and so seek your experience. And I am looking at Promitheus preamps. I did post at Audiogon and got some answers, but not indepth about the Promitheus. So here is my post:

I do not plan to upgrade everything at once - as budgets do not permit. I currently have the NAD C352 integrated and want to start with the Promitheus Reference TVC preamp. I will use my NAD as a power amp for now. When budgets permit, I plan to get the Red Wine Audio Sig 30.2 Power Amp. This is based purely on the reviews from many people online and also 6moons and other online sites. I am not sure if this amp will be good enough to drive my Quad 21L.

The questions are:
Will the Promitheus and RWA work fine with my Quad 21L speakers?
What should be my expectations after I replace the current preamp section in the NAD with Promitheus Ref TVC? Will the sound step-up be huge or slight?
Is this the right approach, or should I just upgrade to a better integrated amp (like Primare, Creek, Musical Fidelity, etc)?

Is there anyone here, who is using this combination? Or is there anyone who is using Promitheus and NAD? Are there any members that are using RWA with Quad dynamic speakers? Please provide your inputs.

Kindly note that I am really not looking at TUBES in any of the components.

Thanks much 

[Rocket]

Hi,

I don't know anything about your speakers.  How efficient are they?

I am pretty familiar with Nad products.  In my experience I don't think you will get much of an upgrade by replacing the preamp with a better one.  Others may disagree but this is my opinion.

Do you intend on replacing the speakers?  In my experience the biggest upgrade for a system is a speaker upgrade?  Next is the amplifier and so on.

Btw I'm not much of a fan of some of the amps that you mention.  Do you live in the US?  If so there are lots of equipment to experiment with.

Regards

Rod

[milpai]

Hi Rod,

Thank you for your response  . Yes, I am in the US.

The Quad 21L are 88db and 6ohms. And no way am I replacing my speakers - very happy with them. I will need atlease a 8-9K budget to replace them They are that good.

Really good to know that you are familiar with NAD products. How was your experience when you coupled them with Promitheus preamp? What Promitheus preamp do you own?

Thanks,
Milpai

[Randy]

I have a second generation Prometheus preamp mated to a Red Wine 30.2 power amp. It is a match made in heaven. You'd have to ask Vinnie at Red Wine if the amp will work well or not with your speakers as there are a lot of variables. You might like to read some of the threads on the Red Wine forum discussing speakers. No doubt you can do better than the NAD integrated, and at a reasonable cost. The Red Wine amp is good enough that you might look for speakers that work with the amp, rather than vice versa. I have managed to get my entire system off the grid and am thrilled to be liberated from the grid.

[milpai]

Hi Randy,
Good to hear from you about the Promitheus and RWA. So, there is actually another audiophile who has thought on the same lines as me - except for the speakers. Which Promitheus model are you using? And what is your current speaker?
For me, it is very difficult to move from the Quads I own. I will surely email to Vinnie about them. It is always good to hear from a satisfied member like you, rather than some one who has just heard from someone about something
Thanks for your inputs.
Regards,
Milpai

[Randy]

My speakers are from an unknown and now defunct company called Roman Audio. They were in existence for only a couple of years, apparently, and i feel lucky to have a pair. These are fairly efficient at 91 db, but many use much less efficient speakers with the Red Wine amp. As for myself, I can't recommend the amp highly enough. My Prometheus is an early version, at the time a second generation, before Nick had his Reference versions and the others he now offers, but they are pretty much all the same animal, minimal preamps that primarily offer just one thing, clean, clear, transparent sound. *

[milpai]

Randy,
I got a reply from Vinnie on RWA forum and he is pretty confident that it will drive my speakers. Basically the RWAs drive a Quad 57, so my Quad can be easily driven. A gentleman on audiogon suggested me to go with the C-core and that is the line I am looking at. Of course this gentleman has the Signature version ($1800) which he compared favourably to his darTZeel ($18K). I am not looking at the Signature version - just the regular C-core. Wish I could audition the Promitheus some where near Orange County, CA, USA

[Randy]

Milpal - yes the C core is his latest type TVC. I am unfamiliar with the technologies, but it is considered a step up from the standard TVC. You should like it very much. Getting equipment from Nicholas lately has been difficult due to high demand. Good luck with that and keep the faith. You'll be rewarded in the end.

[milpai]

Reviving the thread again, after I got some inputs from Jadis Boy (Audiogon and here I believe are same). Looks like my original plan of using the NAD C352 as power amp will not work with TVC as the NAD has 20K impedance and the TVC sounds good with any amp with more than 50K impedance. Nicholas did mention in a PM that he has a client who uses Rotel integrated and TVC. But he uses Rotel set at MAX volume and then controls TVC to control the volume. So I guess this person must still be using Rotel's pre-amp. I don't want to do that. I want to totally over-ride NAD's preamp and use the NAD as just a power amp.

Any inputs/thoughts will be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks