Hitachi HCA-7500 preamplifier - Opinion

legal eagle

Sound Hound
So a long while ago I got a Hitachi HCA-7500 preamplifier - absolutely mint in its original box, about 50$ + shipping. I never understood people who kept their boxes for 20-25 years, but hey....I tested it with some so so speakers and amp, and as this was the time i also got a Mc C-28, an Accoustic Research tube SP-12 and an Marantz Esotec SC-6, it was up against some serious competition (yes, I was all over the place). Anyway, I hooked it up, made sure it works and boxed it.

A few weeks ago I finally got to hook it properly and test it head to head against the Esotec (the C-28 is in the home office system and the SP-12 is still boxed :smoke:). Hooked it with the Aragon 4004 amp, Sound Shaper 3 eq, and Polk Audio R50 speakers.

I'll say it right up front: the 7500 is no Esotec. The more I compare the Esotec to other preamps, the more I am impressed with it - but the 7500 is a different breed. Where the Esotec is incredibly detailed all around colored, the 7500 is plain flat. It is a pure no nonsense pre, without ANY coloring. To my ears, it is a bit weak in the mid tones, but very good with the highs: the very high tones are very precise and the bass is good and tight.

Impressions?

The 7500 is best suited for classical music. Mozart piano concertos (21 & 23) are just IT for the 7500 as it brings out the highs in the violins and the piano.
Rock: Suade (the first one) sounded a bit harsh. I played with the eq a bit, and obviously it helped a lot. I guess that proper fine tuning can eliminate the harshness completely, but than again that album does not have that high a quality recording.
Played some Sparklehorse (the first - "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot" http://www.sparklehorse.com/pages/vivadixie.html), which is one of the better sounding albums i know: sounded OK, but not outstanding - some detail missing. However, when i listened to that album I switched the speakers with KEF Chorales (a story for another time) and WOW, what a change! I always thought the Chorales were a bit too low key, but they are an excellent match for the 7500. They sing together, and the morale is that the 7500 is best matched with low key small-medium 2 way speakers. I can't explain it.
Jazz: Diana Krall sounded OK. The bass on the HCA-7500 is tight, although needs to be brought up a bit on the eq.

Overall:
Extremely well built - all Aluminum sturdy positive knobs. These preamps go on the German ebay for between 40$-100$ (depending on condition, rack handles - the ussual). The black face looks better on that preamp than the silver face (whereas the HMA-7500 amp looks better in silver - but that's just me). Not high-high-end gear, but definitely way more than entry level. I'd say it is an excellent compromise for the budget restricted audiophile, and with proper speaker matching is one hell of a deal. A perfect second system pre.:music:
 

Attachments

  • Hitachi HCA- 7500 3.jpg
    Hitachi HCA- 7500 3.jpg
    110.8 KB · Views: 238
  • Hitachi HCA- 7500 2.jpg
    Hitachi HCA- 7500 2.jpg
    119.7 KB · Views: 221
  • Nude 7500 3.jpg
    Nude 7500 3.jpg
    154.1 KB · Views: 260
  • HCA 7500.jpg
    HCA 7500.jpg
    105.3 KB · Views: 278
I was always very impressed by the HMA 7500 mosfet power amp, and much less so by the HCA 7500 pre-amp. Not just a matter of being flat, but rather an issue of being bland, IMO.

I hold similar feelings towards Denon´s POA 6600 mono amps and 2500 pre-amp, in both circumstances the power amps strike me as considerably better than their partnering pres.

But then, that´s just me, I guess what I really like is the combination of tube preamps with SS power amps.

A question of actually enjoying a sound leaning towards the warmer side of neutral, perhaps?
 
Back when I sold the stuff, I sold my ADS L810's and dynaco 400 and dynaco Pat-5 pre and bought ESS AMT 1B Monitors and an ESS electronic EQ and then biamped with an Hitachi HCA 7500 pre, Hitachi HMA7500 mosfet amp (75wpc) for the heils and an Hitachi hma8300 class g (400wpc) for the woofers.

Through a divorce in 1997 I lost the speakers. The HMA 8300 lost a channel about 7 years ago and I THREW IT AWAY (DOH)! I still use the 7500 pre and 7500 amp in my recording studio into a pair of 4 ohm speakers. It's a relatively small (and closed) room and they do great.

I always had a soft spot for the Hitachi stuff. The meter lights have never fully functioned on that amp though. They intermittently come off and on.

BTW, those speakers are a couple of ex-church sanctuary speakers by a company called Sonshine. Two 12" woofers, two 5" mids and two dome tweeters. About 4' tall. One of my first craigslist purchases - $185.
 
Back
Top Bottom