Preamp for Burmester power amp

Hi Almarg,

How about Mark Levinson 326s or 523 preamp? Do u think they are good match?

After looking at their specs and at Stereophile’s measurements of the 326s and the 526 (which is spec’d similarly to the 523), I don’t see any technical or compatibility issues. I have no knowledge of their sonics, though.

With either of those models, btw, you would want to avoid the higher of the various gain settings they provide, certainly in the case of the 326s. The specified input overload voltages for that model are very low for its 12 db and 18 db gain settings.

Regards,
-- Al

I know of a few tube preamps that can drive low impedances like this no sweat, and balanced as well.

I know of some too. I hear they are quite good!

Best regards,
-- Al   :-)

Have u ever listened Pass Labs + ATC/PMC speakers?

No, I have no experience with ATC or PMC speakers. Or for that matter with the three preamp models you are considering.

Good luck, however you decide to proceed. Regards,

-- Al

There are some technical factors that should be taken into consideration in making this choice:

1)The Bryston has very low input impedances of 6.5K unbalanced/4.5K balanced. Those values are low enough to be a problem for most tube-based source components, and some solid state source components. Even if those values aren’t a problem for the source components you presently have, they may significantly constrain future upgrade possibilities.

2)According to Stereophile’s measurements the Ayre provides essentially zero gain from any of its inputs to its balanced outputs (which are the outputs that would presumably be best to use with your fully balanced amp). Since the efficiency of your speakers is somewhat low (specified as 85 db/1W/1m, with the identically specified earlier version of the speaker measured as only 81 db at http://www.avmentor.net/reviews/2014/atc_scm40_2.shtml), that lack of gain may be an issue if you are using vinyl or other analog sources. With some analog sources you could conceivably even find yourself wanting to turn the volume control up higher than it can go, especially if you listen to material having wide dynamic range such as a lot of classical symphonic music.

3)The balanced inputs of your amp have an **extremely** low input impedance of 1.88K. I suspect that the Pass and Ayre preamps would be able to drive such a low impedance with good results, but it would probably be a good idea to check with the manufacturers to be sure.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al