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Best Vintage Preamp

I have 3 APT Holman preamplifiers that I have updated (and continue to do so), and they easily complete in sound quality with most of my much more expensive preamps. I think it's the great design along with an output impedance that plays well with every amp I have.

Mine have the MC head amp board designed by @HalfApt, which sounds detailed, super quiet, and very dynamic, and is adjustable for many different R and C loads as well as gain. I've also replaced most of the op amps with OPA1642, after first using OPA2132A, which drew too much current.

The most often reported problem I've seen with APT Holman preamps is the mute relay. I have designed two different adapter boards - one for preamps with the IDEC and one for the Aromat relay. They use the very high-quality Omron G6S-2-Y small signal relay.

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Looks great. I just bought a Sony TAE-8450. It sounds very nice especially the phono. Needs some work though. The channels drop out. Wiggling knobs helps for a while.
 
GKTAUDIO said:
I have 3 APT Holman preamplifiers that I have updated (and continue to do so), and they easily complete in sound quality with most of my much more expensive preamps. I think it's the great design along with an output impedance that plays well with every amp I have.

Mine have the MC head amp board designed by @HalfApt, which sounds detailed, super quiet, and very dynamic, and is adjustable for many different R and C loads as well as gain. I've also replaced most of the op amps with OPA1642, after first using OPA2132A, which drew too much current.

The most often reported problem I've seen with APT Holman preamps is the mute relay. I have designed two different adapter boards - one for preamps with the IDEC and one for the Aromat relay. They use the very high-quality Omron G6S-2-Y small signal relay.

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Any more updates recommendation for the APT preamp ?
 
It depends how far you want to go. Increasing some filtering, replacing some film or ceramic caps with better film caps, and using tighter tolerance parts where that is beneficial are good strategies.
Updating op amps should be done thoughtfully, since high-speed contemporary op amps are not necessarily the best choice in all positions on the board. Also, fast op amps will require additional power rail bypassing, which is time-consuming and must be done carefully to avoid problems. With that accomplished, you can update op amps appropriately.
The transformer can be upgraded, and the rectifier and regulators changed out for new parts of the same type. Plenty more can be done, but you can spend a lot of time to do everything.
I had a unit modified by the fellow back east who used to work for the company, and I plan to reverse the most extreme changes because they don't seem to improve the preamp, though some upgrades like more filtering in some locations are helpful, I think.
 
GKTAUDIO said:
The channels drop out only in phono mode, or any input?
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I believe all. I mostly tried the phono. I removed the back and desoldered the gain switch. I took it apart and polished the contacts. Then I resoldered it. I haven't replaced the back yet. I'm going to replace the bad caps and transistors. And clean the pots. But I will try it again in the system before doing so.
 
rwwear said:
I believe all. I mostly tried the phono. I removed the back and desoldered the gain switch. I took it apart and polished the contacts. Then I resoldered it. I haven't replaced the back yet. I'm going to replace the bad caps and transistors. And clean the pots. But I will try it again in the system before doing so.
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There's a very good youtube video of rebuilding the TAE-8450 by Prime HiFi.
 
GKTAUDIO said:
The channels drop out only in phono mode, or any input?
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I put the 8450 back together after cleaning the phono gain switch and no more dropouts. Still needs a recap and good overall pot and switch clean for the rest. It sounds great so far. Doesn't have balanced outs so there's some noise with my Krell amp.
 
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yesshows77 said:
Tube:
Audible Illusions Modulus 2 or 3

SS:
Sony TA-E86 or E88
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I have the Modulus 2D. I think it sounds great. I bought it inexpensively around 20yrs. ago. I still use it. All those nice vintage tube pre-amps seem to be raising in price. I have the CJ pv12 as well - sounds really nice. I bought the pv12 in the 90's f0r around 800.00 now they seem to go for about 2k. All the old CJ tube pre-amps have risen in price.
 
I picked up a Nikko Beta II the other day and couldn't be happier. That thing can produce some serious detail when you get it all dialed in. I also just won an Onkyo P-3030, I put a low bid for it the day before I found the Nikko and won it. So we will see how that one performs.
 
RI HiFi Guy said:
How does it sound?
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i have many preamps so it is nice to try another one.

it is pretty nice but it could be because it is new. BTW, I had the replace a couple bulbs too. You shouldn't need to replace any opamps.

I pulled my McIntosh to check an issue. Once I go through it, it will go back in. The Mac sounds great.

I don't have an Onkyo power amp so I've not compared the pre with one. I have too many power amps so I don't think I'll get an Onkyo power amp.
 
leesonic said:
I'm going to upset the apple cart here and recommend the NAD 1020. It did for the preamp world what the 3020 did for the integrated amp world, turned it on its head. It has a very simple design, using all transistors, no op-amps. It is very easy to restore and upgrade, you can put film capacitors in many key locations, and improve the sound quality a lot. You can even go crazy (for not a lot of money) and replace all the resistors with precision metal film types. The phono stage is very sweet sounding. The only real snag is the lack of line-level inputs, and no remote control (which doesn't bother me).

I have personally restored many many of these, and the results are always the same. My customers say stuff like "I can't tell the difference between the NAD and my xxxx brand preamp". Their xxxx brand preamp is often some so-called "high end" piece costing up to, and sometimes more than $1000.

Lee.
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I had the NAD3020 for a short time, and while it was seriously underpowered, it was a nice integrated amp that I enjoyed very much. But my Harmon Kardon PM665 easily outshined it both in power and sonic quality :)
 
RI HiFi Guy said:
I picked up a Nikko Beta II the other day and couldn't be happier. That thing can produce some serious detail when you get it all dialed in.
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I have a Nikko Beta II that I purchased (BNIB!) from the original owner in ca. 1997. This is the only solid state preamp I own, and it is the only one I will keep. Presently serves as a backup. Top-quality all-discrete designs cannot be beat :)
 
arts said:
I have a Nikko Beta II that I purchased (BNIB!) from the original owner in ca. 1997. This is the only solid state preamp I own, and it is the only one I will keep. Presently serves as a backup. Top-quality all-discrete designs cannot be beat :)
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I can see why, the more I listen the more I love this thing.
 
GKTAUDIO said:
It depends how far you want to go. Increasing some filtering, replacing some film or ceramic caps with better film caps, and using tighter tolerance parts where that is beneficial are good strategies.
Updating op amps should be done thoughtfully, since high-speed contemporary op amps are not necessarily the best choice in all positions on the board. Also, fast op amps will require additional power rail bypassing, which is time-consuming and must be done carefully to avoid problems. With that accomplished, you can update op amps appropriately.
The transformer can be upgraded, and the rectifier and regulators changed out for new parts of the same type. Plenty more can be done, but you can spend a lot of time to do everything.
I had a unit modified by the fellow back east who used to work for the company, and I plan to reverse the most extreme changes because they don't seem to improve the preamp, though some upgrades like more filtering in some locations are helpful, I think.
Click to expand...
What do you make of this modifications ?

quirkaudio.com

APT Preamp - QuirkAudio

The APT preamp, designed by Tom Holman was a very advanced design for its time and is one of the best performing vintage preamps available. I use one as my...
quirkaudio.com
 
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