PRE and AMPS same brand ? or different brand?

I did just that with Classe and run all the same brand electronics. There are huge benefits by doing this. I have found the Classe preamps sounds great and their amps sounds great but together they are unbeleavable. Its total is greater then the sum of its parts.

Its also a great starting point. How do you know something sounds better then all one brand unless you have heard an all one brand system. The problem in synergy is that it really takes time to get a feel to know what goes with what and even then you really dont know what you are getting until the money is already spent. Buying all one brand is a LOT easier.

That said I think that its probably best to mismatch brands. There is no way one company can be the best in everything. You of course still have to match synergy but there are so many brands out there that there are endless combinations.

I decided to go with all one brand to start and now I will switch and swap. Its important to have a good refrence to compare to. If you are unsure, and you wouldnt have posted this if you werent, I would go with an all one brand system to start. At least match the preamp and amp to start and then you can play with cd players from there.

I think it is a good place to start for the reasons stated. My system started out that way as far as the preamp and power amp, but now is different. The amp was changed. After the change I found it interesting that I discovered others have the same brand preamp and power amp combination.
I had a Conrad Johnson preamp with one of their solid state power amps. Now I have a Blue Circle solid state power amp. Better combination for my system. It should be noted that Blue Circle's preamps are also tube that go with the solid state amps.

Even at the very top of the market, it seems that manufacturers, while they always claim to be shooting for "neutrality"-- and may in fact be doing so-- nevertheless design to perfect their "house sound." The result can frequently be too much of a good thing, and it always seems that after I have fallen in love with one company's components, and have a full suite of them, substituting one of someone else's line somehow contributes something that was missing, if it is a comparable product. If nothing else, it keeps the high end in funds.

So i should do as i wanted to and start with all bryston components then ..

the only problem i have there is the $$$
used bryston amplifiers are ok on the price factor..
but i wanted to setup a small home theater system..and they only offer one pre/processor that is really out of my price range for this kind of components ( SP1 wich seem to be a really nice product combinning bp25 annalog and new dts circuitry )

should i get 2* bryston 2B briged in mono ( 200 W @8ohms)
or get a bryston 3B ( 125W * 2 i think ) ??

i would like to get a nice 4B ST but this is also out of price for me even in used sales..

thanks for the inputs neway :)

Jin just get started with whatever you can reasonably afford, & experiment with synergy later on as the budget allows. I've seen this work both ways so you never know, but if you wait & wait until it's completely affordable then the stuff may even be obsoleted by then? Regarding bridging, I suggest against doing that simply because damping factor degrades by half when you bridge an amp, so degraded control of the speaker by the amp is inevietable.
One approach that many of us take in order to balance out a system is to tune it with cabling & tweaks. This includes interconnects, speaker cables, upgrade AC cords, vibration control & isolation products, tube rolling (if tubes are in the picture), AC power conditioning, even your listening room itself.

First of all I would say if you had to decide over a nice amp or preamp to start I would go with the nice preamp. Especially if it is for home theater. The preamp is the heart of your system and it actualy amplifies the signal (percentage wise) more then your amplifier.

Amplifiers are also much more adaptable to upgrades. You can start with one and then later add a second one and bridge them or bi amp them. You can also move them around. Get a better amp down the road and put the old one on the rear channel.

Dont get overwelmed by synergy and enjoy the learning and tweeking of components. Audio Nirvana is an endless journey and its the journey itself that is the fun.

thank you for the help again ..

i have somewhat a problem starting with a preamp and that is, i want to get something that will be HT compatible..and there isn't a lot of choice in nice sounding preamps/processors..and they are not affordable for me at the moment, and won't be until some time ..

maybe i should just get a nice stereo setup that will sound good cause neway my gears will be sued 80-90% of the time in stereo .. and forget about the HT for now ( i don't have a lot of place in my room neway. .)
i think i'll get HT for my parents in the living room,and just get a dam nice stereo setup for me in my room :)

i was going to buy ( with there money..not mine ahah )
them a Nakamichi Soundspace 11, but after browsing through here, i think that with the same money involved, one ca get a better system with sound that will be more alive..

what are your thoughts on a complete nakamichi soundpsace system for HT use ? it's supposed to be all balanced rightly to work together .. but i fear about the performance/$$$ factor ..

thanks..