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Best preamp under $100 for Adcom GFA540?

Zach Nelson

Zach Nelson

How deep is this rabbit hole?
Getting a new to me amp and am curious on what your opinions are on decent preamps for that amount. Trying to stay under $100. Doesn't have to have phono stage beings I have a separate phone preamp. Was tossing around the idea of a No sound "tube buffer" preamp. I know it's not true tube, just tossing ideas around.
 
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Just remember the Adcom amps dont have input level controls,so if going the passive route be sure to watch for gain issues.
Really you should be fine in most cases,but it never hurts to keep those sorta details in mind when shopping.

2¢ FWIW

Bret P.
 
xero-D-hero said:
Just remember the Adcom amps dont have input level controls,so if going the passive route be sure to watch for gain issues.
Really you should be fine in most cases,but it never hurts to keep those sorta details in mind when shopping.

2¢ FWIW

Bret P.
Click to expand...
Can you explain a little more?
 
If you aren't set on new, you can look for one of the midrange Yamahas like a C40/C50/C60 etc or the Kenwood Basic C1/C2. This might require some patience, and will potentially stretch your budget a bit but with some luck you can definitely find something. I have gotten a C40 and a C1 both for under $100 with shipping.
 
Zach Nelson said:
Can you explain a little more?
Click to expand...
He means that, if you need to get full rated power from your amp (many folks do not need anywhere near full rated power), and you are using a preamp without any gain (like the Schitt Sys mentioned above, which is essentially a volume potentiometer in a metal case with RCA jacks), then your sources must have output equal to the sensitivity rating of the amplifier. The sensitivity rating of the Adcom GFA 5400 is 1.125 volts. This is the amount of input needed to drive it to full rated power. Since most CD players output 2 volts, they can drive the amp to full power without needing more gain from a preamp. The other important consideration for a passive (no gain) preamps is that the amp have a sufficiently high input impedance to be easily driven. The GFA 5400 has 49K ohms input impedance, which is enough to let sources drive it directly without having to supply a lot of current.

Your amp is a good candidate for passive (no gain, just a volume knob) preamplification.
 
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