Need a pre-amp for home setup with Bryston 4B/Bose 901's?

[bandwagoner]

Hi Everyone,

My main stereo system includes:

a pair of Bose 901's Series VI
Bryston 4B amp
Harmon/Kardon AVR 20 used as a pre


My situation is that I was looking for a vintage receiver for my mom to throw her Pioneer SP-BS22 bookshelves on, and I quickly realized that I should just give her the AVR 20 so she can blast Top 40 radio, and I can instead look at something a little more interesting.. A pre-amp to pair with my Bryston 4B!

I inherited a set of 901 Series V and the Bryston 4B from my grandfather from the 80's, and they both needed servicing badly. Bose took them in and promised to restore them for $100 CAD, and couldn't, so ended up giving me a brand new pair of 901 Series VI at no extra cost! Bryston was a little more straight forward, paid to service the amp to like new condition, with updated internals, at amazing price with amazing service like expected from those guys. (It was outside of the 20 year warranty period!)

What kind of pre-amp should I be looking at? (Preferably vintage, or pre-loved)
I will only use an aux cord and a turntable, so as long as it has a phono stage and one extra port, that's all I need.

Also, what do you guys think of the 901's? Should I be selling them and getting something different?


EDIT: Please let me know if this was posted in the right spot or not, I couldn't really determine where to post something about pre-amps. Thanks!

 

[avionic]

Bryston ------- perhaps ? Hundreds of options. Solid-state,valves or hybrids.Just about every price range you can imagine.

 

[damacman]

Yeah, why not a Bryston? If the took care of you, show them some love.

Wow on the Bose deal!

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Your answer is obvious, a Bryston preamplifier. They take care of their customers. And support them long term. And it sounds great, and is reliable and well built.

 

[techguy0192]

I've owned a lot of Bryton gear and their preamps don't get the attention they deserve. Until very recently, I had a BP26; it was one of the best preamps I have ever owned. You could buy an older Bryston and be confident that if you ever have any issues, it can be repaired. Bryston support is truly top notch.

Another suggestion would be an Audio Research preamp. I have had great results with ARC and Bryston. I think most people agree that it's a great match.

 

[bandwagoner]

Thanks, I'm definitely going to take a look at Bryston and Audio Research.

Bryston does take care of their customers, and their products are amazing.

I've never really used a dedicated pre-amp before, I'm wondering how much I've been missing out on compared to that AVR 20 that has been set up there.

 

[whoaru99]

...
I've never really used a dedicated pre-amp before, I'm wondering how much I've been missing out on compared to that AVR 20 that has been set up there.

Guess you'll find out soon.

There is not much love for HT stuff around these parts. It's so bad at times I'm surprised I have not heard someone claim their system sounds bad because the neighbor two houses down has a HT system. OTOH, maybe I just missed it. LOL.

 

[techguy0192]

What is your budget? Knowing that information will allow for better advisement.

 

[bandwagoner]

I've come across an old Yamaha C-2 that my dad had lying around, it doesn't seem to be powering on though. Would it be a simple enough project to troubleshoot/attempt to repair as a beginner while I'm looking for something else? I wouldn't mind trying to learn how to refresh some non-functional equipment.

Would it sound alright with the Bryston?

I know it's a steep question, but anyone have any idea where to start when attempting to fix something for the first time, or should I just get it professionally serviced?

 

[Ds2000]

I'm going to add another for Bryston. What a fun setup that will be once you have the pre.

 

[Blue Shadow]

If you drop into the Yamaha forum, I'm sure you can get some help stepping you through the preamp to either an outside repair or DIY solution.