I have been using a Melos Ma-111 for some years now. I use Philips 6922's. Pre-amp has a moded power supply and film caps as well a upgraded internal wire and rca jacks.Set up as dual mono with 2 separate volume pots no mute no tape monitor and no balance control.The simplier the better! This pre-amp has great staging has never been bright especially now using Sonoran Plateau cables and hardwired Sonoran Plateau Pc. many of these upgrades could be done on your SHA-1 Gold..Tom
Melos SHA-1 Gold vs McIntosh C2200 sound quality?
I currently have a Melos SHA-1 Gold preamp, Sunfire power amplifier and Legacy Classic speakers (bi-wired). Primary source is Sony SCD-XA777ES. I find the overall sound characteristic to be somewhat analytical/bright. I am running NOS 7308 tubes in the Melos which was an improvement over the stock 6922's. I have tried both balanced and unbalanced cables between the preamp and amp, and find the unbalanced to sound slightly better (not quite as bright). I have been considering a McIntosh C2200 to replace the Melos, but would really appreciate any input you might have on what results I might expect.