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Which New Preamp To Get ?

P

parisphoto

Active Member
I'm looking for a new preamp. Strictly 2 channel listening. Phono section not necessary as I have other preamps. Mostly listen to CDs as a source, and I am in the process of ripping them to a loseless format.
I have it narrowed down to the:
Vincent Audio - SA-31 Hybrid Stereo Preamplifier
NAD - C-165 BEE- Stereo Preamplifier
Parasound - Classic 2100 Stereo Preamp
Parasound - Halo P3 Balanced Preamplifier
The preamp will be mated to my main power amp, an Emotiva XPA-2, and Ar 2ax Speakers.
Any recommendations and thoughts would be greatly appreciate. Thanks.
 
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No need to spend the extra money on the Nad.

Vincent Audio - SA-31 Hybrid Stereo Preamplifier
and
Parasound - Classic 2100 Stereo Preamp
both suits your needs very well and are the same price so make your choice based on cosmetics.
(The Vincent SA-31 hybrid won the Absolute Sound Editor's Choice Award 2008)
 
I ruled out the Emotiva USP-1 because of it's lack of tone controls. I tried their previous preamp, the RSP-2, but I felt that it was a bit too "cold" for me, and I was happier with my old Nad 1600.
 
I would take the Vincent and as another stated the Emotiva has no life, it is cold and lifeless IMO.
 
chadnliz said:
I would take the Vincent and as another stated the Emotiva has no life, it is cold and lifeless IMO.
Click to expand...

Isn't the sign of a good preamp that it is completely transparent?
If a preamp adds something isn't it by definition not desirable?
The only sound difference it could add is distortion.
 
eljr said:
Isn't the sign of a good preamp that it is completely transparent?
If a preamp adds something isn't it by definition not desirable?
The only sound difference it could add is distortion.
Click to expand...

Cold and lifeless is not something I find desirable. A preamp can harm by adding...but it can also harm by what it takes away. I find preamps to be the most hit or miss part of my own audio chain at home. I'm glad to hear this about the Emotiva, as I was looking into it but couldn't hear it in person.
 
JohnVF said:
Cold and lifeless is not something I find desirable. A preamp can harm by adding...but it can also harm by what it takes away. I find preamps to be the most hit or miss part of my own audio chain at home. I'm glad to hear this about the Emotiva, as I was looking into it but couldn't hear it in person.
Click to expand...

are you kidding me?

what on the planet is a cold and lifeless pre amplifier sound???
 
eljr said:
are you kidding me?

what on the planet is a cold and lifeless pre amplifier sound???
Click to expand...

Huh? It's an uninvolving, non-dynamic, sterile, clinical, all the notes but none of the music...sound. If you've managed to never hear a cold and lifeless preamp, you're listening to much different gear than I am. But don't listen to me...I like tube preamps.
 
JohnVF said:
Huh? It's an uninvolving, non-dynamic, sterile, clinical, all the notes but none of the music...sound. If you've managed to never hear a cold and lifeless preamp, you're listening to much different gear than I am. But don't listen to me...I like tube preamps.
Click to expand...

I just listen to the music, not the distortion

Tubes do distort the music, I don't deny this and folks love that distortion, fine
but call a spade a spade

just sayin', not trying to cause trouble
 
eljr said:
I just listen to the music, not the distortion

Tubes do distort the music, I don't deny this and folks love that distortion, fine
but call a spade a spade

just sayin', not trying to cause trouble
Click to expand...

Not taking the bait, sorry. This has nothing to do with the OP.
 
JohnVF said:
Not taking the bait, sorry. This has nothing to do with the OP.
Click to expand...

Bait?

The op should get the Emotive suggested as it is cosmetically a match.
Of the ones he listed I recommended whichever was more esthetically pleasing or if not important the Vincent as it is the cheapest.

If you can't reply just don't.

bait.
 
eljr said:
Bait?

The op should get the Emotive suggested as it is cosmetically a match.
Of the ones he listed I recommended whichever was more esthetically pleasing or if not important the Vincent as it is the cheapest.

If you can't reply just don't.

bait.
Click to expand...

Congratulations, you win. What is it with audio people where you can't have a simple discussion without it becoming some pissing contest about who's preferences are right? What's with the attitude?

It would seem to me that the OP would care about listening impressions of our members, I know I would and do since I'm looking for a preamp myself. If somebody, especially somebody's who's tastes I've come to know on this board, refers to a preamp as "cold and lifeless" I'm going to take notice. For, regardless of your statement, the only thing a preamp can add is NOT distortion. It can, in fact, have sins of omission. It can alter the frequency response. It can screw with dynamics. It can be a bad match to drive a particular amp. And yes, it can add distortion. In a perfect world, a preamp adds nothing, but in my experience that is not at all common. If somebody wants to pick and choose based on cosmetics, fine, but preamps do not all sound the same, and buying something simply because it's a cosmetic match is a crapshoot.
 
JohnVF said:
Have you heard one of these? If so, how is the phono preamp, if you don't mind me asking?
Click to expand...

No, I have not heard the Emotiva preamp. So, my suggestion has no basis in personal experience. I do have the XPA-2 amp paired with a Marantz 3200 preamp and am very happy with it driving Dahlquist DQ-10s.
 
JohnVF said:
Cold and lifeless is not something I find desirable. A preamp can harm by adding...but it can also harm by what it takes away. I find preamps to be the most hit or miss part of my own audio chain at home. I'm glad to hear this about the Emotiva, as I was looking into it but couldn't hear it in person.
Click to expand...

Don't take anyone's word for it, what sounds cold and sterile to some might sound warm and colorful to you. Never buy a new preamp (or other component) without a generous return policy, and Emotiva has a good one.
 
JohnVF said:
Congratulations, you win. What is it with audio people where you can't have a simple discussion without it becoming some pissing contest about who's preferences are right? What's with the attitude?

It would seem to me that the OP would care about listening impressions of our members, I know I would and do since I'm looking for a preamp myself. If somebody, especially somebody's who's tastes I've come to know on this board, refers to a preamp as "cold and lifeless" I'm going to take notice. For, regardless of your statement, the only thing a preamp can add is NOT distortion. It can, in fact, have sins of omission. It can alter the frequency response. It can screw with dynamics. It can be a bad match to drive a particular amp. And yes, it can add distortion. In a perfect world, a preamp adds nothing, but in my experience that is not at all common. If somebody wants to pick and choose based on cosmetics, fine, but preamps do not all sound the same, and buying something simply because it's a cosmetic match is a crapshoot.
Click to expand...

What is a "sin of omission?"

Does't, "alter the frequency response" mean distorts?

How does a pre amp "screw with dynamics?"

How can a pre amp be a "bad match to drive a particular amp?"

Thanks

in my 50 odd years of listening to music I have never found much of a difference between pre amps selling at a comparable price point (unless one is defective)

BTW, I'd say it would be a crap shoot to find two folks to both say a particular preamp sounded "cold and lifeless" in a controlled listening environment.
 
eljr said:
... How can a pre amp be a "bad match to drive a particular amp?" ...
Click to expand...

Take a vintage tube preamp with an output coupling capacitor sized for a tube amp input impedance of 100k or higher -- something like a stock Dynaco PAS, if you're looking for a make and model. Mate it to a solid-state power amp with a low input impedance (10k to 22k). The usual result will be a 6 dB per octave bass rolloff in the lowest audible octave or two. To me, this combination would exemplify a bad match between preamp and amp.
 
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