Bside123, below is a recent ( 12/10 ) email from Steve regarding the VTL 5.5 mating with his DNA Amps.
Hello James -
Thank you very much for your kind words - I am very pleased to hear that you are enjoying your McCormack amplifiers!
The VTL 5.5 looks like an excellent preamp and should mate well with your DNA amps. It has both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA outputs so it will drive either amp, or both at the same time if you wish. Its output impedance is very low (under 200 Ohms) so it is a perfect match for both amps. The one potential problem I can see has to do with its high gain (20dB) and "conventional" volume control. In truth I am not certain exactly what volume control is in the 5.5, but it seems to be a rotary potentiometer (motor-driven for remote-control). If so, you may find your system volume going up quickly as you turn the volume knob. This is not a performance or sound quality issue, but you may find that you are only able to use the first 1/3 or 1/2 of the control's rotation, and it may not track perfectly at very low volume (the L-R balance could be off slightly). I mention this because of your comment about adjusting the volume with your Nuforce preamp. Still, the only way to be sure is to try it, and my guess is that it will work fine and sound great.
For future reference, if volume control is an important issue for you, try to find a preamp with a high-resolution volume control - one with 70 - 100 steps (or more) and .5dB (or less) of adjustment per step. This will solve the volume adjustment issue.
Enjoy!
Happy Holidays,
Steve McCormack
I hope this helps in regards to the pre/amp synergy......
Hello James -
Thank you very much for your kind words - I am very pleased to hear that you are enjoying your McCormack amplifiers!
The VTL 5.5 looks like an excellent preamp and should mate well with your DNA amps. It has both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA outputs so it will drive either amp, or both at the same time if you wish. Its output impedance is very low (under 200 Ohms) so it is a perfect match for both amps. The one potential problem I can see has to do with its high gain (20dB) and "conventional" volume control. In truth I am not certain exactly what volume control is in the 5.5, but it seems to be a rotary potentiometer (motor-driven for remote-control). If so, you may find your system volume going up quickly as you turn the volume knob. This is not a performance or sound quality issue, but you may find that you are only able to use the first 1/3 or 1/2 of the control's rotation, and it may not track perfectly at very low volume (the L-R balance could be off slightly). I mention this because of your comment about adjusting the volume with your Nuforce preamp. Still, the only way to be sure is to try it, and my guess is that it will work fine and sound great.
For future reference, if volume control is an important issue for you, try to find a preamp with a high-resolution volume control - one with 70 - 100 steps (or more) and .5dB (or less) of adjustment per step. This will solve the volume adjustment issue.
Enjoy!
Happy Holidays,
Steve McCormack
I hope this helps in regards to the pre/amp synergy......