[mcullinan]

Ive heard the Nait.. Good stuff too. Are the connections proprietary? I know Emil had some Nait gear with connections that only worked with their gear.
Mike

[Canyoneagle]

Ive heard the Nait.. Good stuff too. Are the connections proprietary? I know Emil had some Nait gear with connections that only worked with their gear.
Mike

This is true of the older Naim gear, but Naim (wisely) decided to include RCA inputs on their gear a few years back, with the introduction of the Nait 5.

[lazydays]

To agree with an earlier thought, the tube pre / ss amp combos have worked very well for me in the past.  With preamp tubes, you usually just have to buy 1 good pair, put em in, and forget about them...no biasing, no replacement for many years, no real heat issues.  Just a thought.

I had amazing sound with a Stratos amp w. cap upgrade running from a Modwright 9.0se pre, which fits your price range on the used market.  The sound is really killer, and not "syrupy", if that is your objection to tubes.  One plus to trying this approach is that if you find one at a fair price, if you don't like it, you will be able to sell it very easily here or on Audiogon with little or no loss, so you get to try something that might be a really great match (as it was for me) with virtually no risk.  (I was running this combo with lots of different cdp's, and either Kestral Hotrods speakers or VMPS RM1's)

If you prefer the ss route, (and even though I'm sorta hocking my own gear, I'd suggest you try the above approach) I will likely be selling a Promithius TVC and AudioSector Patek soon.  I really like that amp.

Another thought: if you pay for shipping both ways (about $20 probably) I could send you a Mardis modded Trends amp to audition.  It is silly good for the $$, and if you haven't tried digital it might be a good way to explore the format w/ no risk.  Same thing goes for the TVC if you want to give it a try.

the idea that a tube preamp is slow and sluggish is bull! They've just never heard a good tube preamp. The Candella has so much speed and presense that you'll want to think about replacing other items in your system. Even the Quicksilver I keep as a spare unit is better than most solid state preamps out there

[wilsynet]

Not unhappy with the Odyssey gear, just not the sound I am looking for.

You said you're looking to change the sound, but in what direction?  More detailed or more analog?  Is it too harsh?  Too syrupy?  Not dynamic enough?

If the answer is "less sterile, more musical", you might also want to swap out the Benchmark DAC.

[geowak]

In response to wilsynet's post and all-

Looking for the sound coming from the source uncolored. That is to say not warm, not digital or analog, just natural or neutral. I remember something I saw written in an audio mag. Music starts in a raw version, and every thing downstream acts as a filter- from the recording equipment, to the technique of the engineer, to the source equipment one uses to play it back, to a preamp, amp, speakers and your ear. Even your degree of hearing and interpretation of the sound from your brain acts as a filter.

But back to the point, looking for less filters and just a more transparent
preamp or integrated amp.

I don't have anything against tubes, but they do sound warm to my taste.
My Candela is VERY NICE sounding, but it's sound is not as neutral as I like.

[bummrush]

Older Coda on Gon should be able to get price down on it if seller wants to work with ya,anyway at price its at now is to high by at least a 100 or so,but at 4 to 5 its a sweet pre amp.

[mcullinan]

I would say the Audible Illusions is extremely neutral. You might want to take a listen. And their are plenty of non tubed preamps that are warm sounding.
Mike

[wilsynet]

Both of your speakers are about 90db sensitive, which I think the Red Wine Audio Signature 30 will do quite nicely.  30 watts per channel will be plenty.

I think you'll be very, very pleased with this integrated amplifier.  It has great clarity, and sounds clean and pure without sacrificing musicality.  The incredibly low noise floor of Vinnie's designs is stunning.  It is very neutral, and although some people say Vinnie's equipment sounds warm, I believe the adjectives smooth and neutral with remarkable tone and density are more appropriate descriptions.

It was reviewed in 2006 by Srajan Ebaen here:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/redwine4/30.html

There's one right now on Audiogon for $850, and another for $1250.

[WGH]

I'll second the The AVA Insight control (integrated) amp. Very neutral and all solid state. I have all three of the Insight products (DAC, pre-amp, and amp), the units arrived about 3 weeks apart with the DAC showing up first, then the amp, with the pre-amp arriving last. Each piece brought my system closer to a neutral sound.

The DAC made a big change, its sound is very clear with deep bass and no added warmth. Frank hit a home run with this design.

The 440 amp made a small change to my systems sound with slightly less warmth, my previous amp was an Anthem PVA2 which is still a wonderful, smooth sounding amp that adds just a hint of warmth to a system, it would be perfect for a lean, overly bright system.

The Insight EC pre-amp made another big change. The synergy with the other Insight pieces is immediately noticeable and the combination is magical. The three units blend into one cohesive unit to produce a well defined sound stage with a pure sound. I was listening to "One Second" by Yello (vinyl) yesterday afternoon, volume was about halfway up, which is very loud, and the very fast drum thwacks and bass lines were clearly delineated with absolutely no brightness. Shirley Bassey's voice soared and the driving rhythms rocked the house.

Wayne

[doug s.]

In response to wilsynet's post and all-

Looking for the sound coming from the source uncolored. That is to say not warm, not digital or analog, just natural or neutral. I remember something I saw written in an audio mag. Music starts in a raw version, and every thing downstream acts as a filter- from the recording equipment, to the technique of the engineer, to the source equipment one uses to play it back, to a preamp, amp, speakers and your ear. Even your degree of hearing and interpretation of the sound from your brain acts as a filter.

But back to the point, looking for less filters and just a more transparent
preamp or integrated amp.

I don't have anything against tubes, but they do sound warm to my taste.
My Candela is VERY NICE sounding, but it's sound is not as neutral as I like.

i have heard the candela, & i agree w/your assessment.  but, i would still go for tubes.  look for a used melos preamp - sha-gold-r, or ma333r.  both extremely neutral, they offer anything a s/s pre will offer, but better soundstaging & body - a more musical presentation.  if i were to go back to s/s, i would consider a linn kairn.  another excellent s/s pre, imo, is the audio alchemy dlc, at a fraction of your budget...

doug s.

[Se7en]

You might also consider a used Tact 2.0.

They can be upgraded, and easily equipped with adc and dac or go all digital which would allow you to use your Benchmark or a different dac (maybe tube).

Also keep in mind that the room correction gives you a lot of flexibility that you may not have with another pre.