[Mass. Wine Guy]

I know what good sound is but I don't know a lot about the technical side, so I'd be grateful for opinions on my preamp, a Morrison ELAD. I have little experience with other preamps, but to me the Morrison is dead quiet and extremely neutral in terms of anything it introduces to the system. My amp is an Adcom GFA 535, which I think I should hold on to (but I'm open to corrections about this).

I just bought a used pair of Silverline Minuet speakers off Audiogon, which haven't been shipped yet.

Thank you.

[Tyson]

The Morrison is not the weak link in your system, but your Adcom is, unfortunately.  Those silverlines are low sensitivity (that's how they get all that bass from a small speaker), so you might want to look at a refined, but "big" amp.  Maybe Classe, Odyssey, or (my favorite), audio-gd.

[poseidonsvoice]

Tyson is right. On top of that, you mind want to look into a power amp that isn't too hot on the top, or be very careful with placement in the room. Your room furnishings will probably help in absorption to mitigate the top end, but try not to overly toe in these speakers. Even averaged across a 30 degree window, there is a frequency response irregularity at around 3kHz. The true sensitivity is 85dB @ 2.83V. Minimum impedance is about 5 ohms. Even a robust 60 watt tube amp can help, although its difficult to advise without knowing your budget. The measurements tell it all as seen here. Regardless for a small system and in the proper context, I can see one having fun with this speaker. I used to own a similar monopole about 1 year ago.

Best of luck,

Anand.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Thanks. I know the 535 is rated at 60 w/channel, but is believed by Adcom to go up to about 80. Wouldn't either be enough to drive my speakers satisfactorily (a word I seldom use)?

I was looking at the Maverick Audio gear. It seems like good quality for the money. They make an integrated hybrid tube amp:

http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_a1

Otherwise, I would look for a good used amp on eBay. My budget is in the low hundreds (not over $400). Thanks again. I'm very grateful for your advice.

[jtwrace]

With that budget I would go Class D and be done with it. You'll get plenty of power and great sound.   

www.classdaudio.com

[Mass. Wine Guy]

With that budget I would go Class D and be done with it. You'll get plenty of power and great sound.   

www.classdaudio.com

Um, how does one use these amps? They look like they go inside something.

[jtwrace]

Um, how does one use these amps? They look like they go inside something.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=76400.0

[poseidonsvoice]

With that budget I would go Class D and be done with it. You'll get plenty of power and great sound.   

www.classdaudio.com

Um, how does one use these amps? They look like they go inside something.

Jtwrace,

This fella isn't a diy'er. He needs something fully built, ready to go. But then again, it's not too early to start with the craze 

Mass. Wine Guy,

It's not necessarily about power, although that is important. I believe the Adcom combined with the Minuet speaker maybe too etched in the top end for you. But if I were you, I would set the system up as is with your Adcom amp and see how it sounds. You haven't even received your Silverline speakers yet, so best to cross that bridge first. Many aspects of the room can change the sound that are coming from your speakers. The Maverick looks interesting, can't comment on the sound though. Definitely an amp that belongs in the Cheap and Cheerful Circle!

Best,

Anand.

[turkey]

I know what good sound is but I don't know a lot about the technical side, so I'd be grateful for opinions on my preamp, a Morrison ELAD. I have little experience with other preamps, but to me the Morrison is dead quiet and extremely neutral in terms of anything it introduces to the system.

That's exactly right. Hold on to your ELAD.

I also agree with Anand that you should try your new speakers with your Adcom amp to see how well it works. Give it a month and see  how you feel then.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Too late. I've already razed my house to build a new, dedicated listening home. That ought to take care of the speakers.

I'll definitely wait until I can hear the speakers through my system and then think about changing it.

Even though I'm selling the Paradigm Atom Monitors I got recently, they make the speakers I've had for years, Axiom M2i, sound like they're covered with blankets.

Is this a decent amp?: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1291656186&/Parasound-HCA-1000-Price-drop!

[mjosef]

The Parasound is a decent amp, but so is the Adcom 535, I think you will be going sideways with the Parasound. The Parasound can sound a little hard on top and is not as "sweet" on the mid or bass as the Adcom. Overall the Adcom will have a warmer sound than the Parasound...I have both amps.
But if you insist on Parasound I can offer you mines for a better price.

Poseidon offered the best advice...wait till you get your speakers, try it with what you got, then identify whatever 'weak' points you 'think' you might be hearing, then decide which direction you want to take the sound...be that warmer, darker, more resolution, etc.
Good luck

[doug s.]

shameless plug here - i have a nice home-brew hypex ucd180 class-d amp that i am not using, and would love to sell.  the parts cost alone is ~$600 or so, and i would be up for reasonable offers below that.  it's rated at 100wpc into 8 ohms and 180 into 4 ohms; which should work nicely w/your new speakers.  feel free to pm me if you are interested in more details/pics, etc...

also, while i have heard good things about the elad pre, (not so good things about the mfr's hyping it tho), sometime down the road, i would recommend you try a tubed preamp.  most folks have a hard time going back to s/s, especially preamps, once they have heard a good tube unit.

doug s.

[turkey]

also, while i have heard good things about the elad pre, (not so good things about the mfr's hyping it tho), sometime down the road, i would recommend you try a tubed preamp.  most folks have a hard time going back to s/s, especially preamps, once they have heard a good tube unit.

That's right, talk him into selling the ELAD. Toobs are so much better that he should just get rid of the ELAD post haste. In fact, he should just give it to me.

[JLM]

Power measured in watts are logrythmic compared to decibels of gain.  In other words, you must double the power to hear half again as loud (3 more dB of output) or ten times the power to hear twice as loud (or 10 dB more output).  Note that 1 dB is the smallest incremental increase the average person can hear.

So you can barely hear the difference between 60 and 80 watts.  Don't skimp on power, especially if you're in a big room or play loud.  Even if neither apply, the sudden volume increases (dynamic range) of music requires huge short term power surges and speakers handle clean surges much better than distorted smaller surges. 

A bigger amp can turn your speakers from polite dinner guests into professional footballers in tuxes.

[Elizabeth]

I agree your current amp is nice, but would be what to upgrade. I ? think ? I sent the OP a message that I have a nice Forte' 4a I could sell it to Mass wine guy for $400 with a nice Pangea 9 gauge powercord thrown in for free (I bought a LOT of them and have extras) You address?? but flat $25 shipping would do.
The Forte'4a I bought new like 15 years ago. I replaced it with a Bryston 4B-SST2
Sen me a message if you are interested
The Forte 4a run HOT. it uses about $10 worth of electricity a month if left on 24/7
And it was just left on for at least half those 15 years
The Forte' has one flaw, the plastic covering one speaker binding post crcked off the stub, but the metal part is functional. and I have use a small pliers to tighten the post down successfully for at least 7 years.
ANy way, no rush, check it o,ut Google. plenty of stuff about the Forte 4a reviews etc.
(and MODS if i break any rules offering this, please just let me know and I will delete the post, thanks)

[Wind Chaser]

Wasn't Forte' a Nelson Pass side line?  If so, it should be pretty decent stuff.

[poseidonsvoice]

Wasn't Forte' a Nelson Pass side line?  If so, it should be pretty decent stuff.

Forte' was Threshold Electronics more inexpensive line. Excellently designed, and yes, Pappa Pass did have a lot of influence in those designs. That's why they run hot and sound smooth.

Mass. Wine Guy,

You're going to get lots of opinions here. And there are already a bunch of fellas who are ready to sell you amps that sound like better alternatives than what you have even found on Audiogon. But...I would still listen to your new system, in your room, describe the sound after hearing several different genres of music and then report back here. We're here to help. Or else you're just shooting from the hip.

Best,
Anand.

[fly_fish_nz]

Well, I'm going to be the odd man out on this one.  I owned an Elad for 2-3 years and was pretty amazed how much better a Sonic Euphoria transformer based pre and the Placette RVC were when I compared them directly to the ELAD.  The S Euphoria lends a touch more body and dynamics than the Placette, but the Placette seemed more transparent.  Both beat the ELAD pretty easily in my system back then (which included a Pass Aleph 3 and then a souped up Adcom 5802 at the time).  Good luck!

[Letitroll98]

I also have read a lot of mixed reviews on the ELAD and it's manufacturer, never heard it myself so couldn't comment.  I do own an Adcom GFA 535 II amp, not currently in service, but I'm very familiar with it's sound.  Not bad at all for a lower powered amp, probably the cleanest sounding of the series (535 thru 555) with only one set of output transistors.  A little soft and truncated in the lower bass, a hint of brightness on top, and a bit closed in in both dynamics and soundstage.  But all of these faults are minor in magnitude and the amp is a winner at it's price point and vintage.  It's a good match for beginning audiophiles in smaller rooms and medium-ly efficient speakers, much better than most receivers in the class, so it's prolly fine for now. 

All that being said, when you're ready to move up, the Adcom will definitely go in the closet or be relegated to Home Theater duty when replaced with any modest high power amp of decent sound quality.  There is simply no substitute for big honkin' stiff power supplies with lots of reserve power pumping out a couple hundred watts or more.  For the preamp, you have to be the judge if the ELAD is the cat's meow like some shills, oh goodness, I mean fellow audiophiles think it is, or it's a clever marketing hype product.  I honestly don't know, but it's often wise to avoid highly controversial topics and products.   

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Thank you, everybody. I really appreciate your help and insight. I'll definitely hold tight for now and live with my new speakers for a while before changing anything.

I've spoken by phone with Don Morrison, inventor of the ELAD. He's one of the most pleasant, helpful, down to earth and sincere people I've ever encountered. Still, one of these days just to see the difference, I'll experiment with other preamps.