Preamp Recommendations?

Fair enough. You are in for one expensive ride.

 

hehe thats part of the fun i guess... exploring and upgrading a bit at a time.

 

arcam fmj c31, very good value, hi fi news award winner 2006 built like a tank [better than cyrus!!!] around 550 in good nick second hand

 

thanks for the additional suggestions, gives me something to look into.

 

I can strongly recommend NVA P50 passive pre. If you want remote control of volume, you'll need an extra NVA box - the RVC.

Have a look on eBay - that's the only place they are sold.

Really transparent sound.

If you want a phono stage too, I think you'll need to go for the P90 passive with the phono option.

About £150 for the P50 and £130 for the RVC. Yes, I know that's way under your budget, but you'll be hard pressed to get a better sound under £1k imho. And he sells on a 14 day trial period basis, and has a seriously good upgrade scheme (full allowance for swapped kit if you do it within 2 years, I think).

Give it a try - I did and was seriously impressed. OK in the end I went for a used AudioSynthesis Passion8 (thanks LarkRise !!) but there's not that much in it and the AS isn't available anymore, I think, and is rare used.
I am buying the top NVA power amp monoblocks though. IMO NVA is seriously good kit.

 

i actualy gave NVA a look with some interest

whats with the remote box though, surely thats just another preamp to run things through, but with only one input and output?

could the remote box be used as a preamp in its own right?

 

Yup, NVA gear really is worth a try, whatever you thought your budget was. (As you can see from my sig, I use fairly decent kit).

NVA sent me the RVC box to try - I thought I'd be clever and just use it as a 1-input/output pre - it must be better that way, right?
Wrong! The sound was vague and occasionally distorted.

Subsequent email from Richard Dunn informed me that, no it isn't a volume pot but "an electronic circuit" and should be used in conjunction with one of his passive pre-amps. And that was spot-on.

I have no idea what is in the box, and probably wouldn't understand it if it was explained to me. Suffice to say that it turns a passive pre into a remote control (volume only) passive pre. It works a treat, but it does need an extra pair of interconnects. It may well work with other non-remote pre-amps, Richard Dunn did tell me that you could insert it either between a pre and a power, or between a source component and the amp, so I guess it should work with anything.

 

Spotted this...

http://www.audiolincs.com/prev_owned.php?cat_id=1&prd_id=224

Or if you're not ready for that then maybe this...

http://www.noteworthyaudio.co.uk/page112.html

which you can find about one third of the way down on this price list...

http://www.noteworthyaudio.co.uk/offers.html

 

some tasty gear there mate, thanks... i wish i had enough for the bel canto setup, as its the set i would really like to be running.

 

but you would not need to upgrade ;-)

time for a visit, now that I've a fully balanced system (Dax Decade -> bridged Evo4) and an upgrade to the Transcend.

 

peter, richard is away for the weekend and busy next week. but ive suggested to him that we go across possibly the week after, and you can have a listen to a system almost entirely made up of bel canto.

 

Hi Shrink, I have been a bit slow to post but it's the Audiolab Q + 2Ms upgrade that I had a bit of experience with.. First, though, I'd need to say that I went right up the standard Audiolab ladder for three reasons, the last 2 probably being more valid than the first which was of course the dreaded What HiFi reference system.. The second reason was a lazy, more of the same, + synergy approach. The third was financial and tactical: I found it very easy, living in London, to buy and sell Audiolab gear s/h and without much punishment from depreciation. I bought the 8000Ms for ?700 about 5 years ago and easily sold them on 2 years back for ?600. Perhaps there WAS a virtue in the old What HiFi push after all...
Anyway - like you - I had the Q and definitely rated it above the C. The switchable gain was a nice bonus too. Then, and with Audio Synthesis DAX both introducing me to the brand and giving my digital replay a more pleasantly analoguey feel, up came the chance of an Audio Synthesis Passion Ultimate passive pre-amp.
I wasn't at all sure what I was getting into especially when I was given some verdicts on inductance and the length of the interconnects which all went above my hopelessly non-technical cranium. But... it was so much better. The first thing that I recall standing out was the channel separation in a far wider sound-stage. After that it was clear too that the Q was a bit sluggish. However - I do need to point out that my set-up location is not one which allows easy a/b comparison. The decision, though, was easy. The Passion came from Larkrise who sadly no longer posts here but who kindly allowed me an approval period longer than I needed.
Anyways - I'm still there with a Passion and a Desire Decade (non-black gate) Power amp and can't say I miss the Audiolab stuff too much.
Just a few thoughts for you... and good luck with the hunt.
Mellstock

sources: Audio Synthesis Transcend, Nottingham Analogue Hyperspace/AceSpace, Denon DL304,Micro-groove+
________
TOYOTA VITZ

 

Look for a used EAR 864, can be found for £1,000-1,200 in very good condition, tubes are not expensive at all, will suit most power amps and it has balanced connections.

 

suggest that you email/text me with details.

tomorrow, I am off to listen to Krell/Graaf stand-off in AS Transcend/DaxDecade and Arcs set-up. wlyk