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Preamp Ideas For 777ES EVo Maggie IIIa s

Hey everyone, the above is my current setup and i am using EVS Ultimate Attenuators right now as my preamp with so-so results. I am also using silver audio silver bullet 6.0 for IC's and tekline copper 1500tl speaker cable. Right now i have a huge soundstage and great detail however my setup is currently very bright, lacks a midrange, and has little to no bass impact at all. I'm not looking for any kind of house shaking thump, but i am looking for something that will realistically portray the bottom end of the spectrum. right now the midrange and bass sound emaciated and pale compared to the musical design sp2b i was running on it. in fact i am almost leaning towards getting that same unit again. anyways, any suggestions on preamps that would benefit my system. number of inputs is not a concern but detail, soundstage, and midrange is. Also i have heard good things about placette and nORh but as i am using passive right now i am afraid i will run in to the same problem again (impedence mismatch?) also, i may be way off track here, i am only running one Bel Canto EVo to the maggies. Knowing the power consumption of the maggies, could a lack of power be one of the reasons? Would a second EVo runing in mono solve my problem? I plan on doing this eventually anyway, but i didn't have this problem with my last pre so it leads me to believe the EVS is the culprit. anyways, i'll leave it up to your opinions which i desperately need. Thanks, in advance for all of your help.
vintgeguru
4 responses Add your response
hifiharv
351 posts
 
I had IIIa's for years, and found that they could really sing with low powered tube amps, but, got very anemic sounding with passive pre amps. I didn't go through tons of preamps, but when I plugged in the Cary SLP 90 it was an awesome and immediate improvment of great proportions. I just saw an SLP 98 on this site today which is the current version of the 90. Well worth checking out regardless of what amps you are using. Don't be scared by all that "warm" sounding description, you can tailor the sound depending on what tubes you use.
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sedond
1,387 posts
 
vintageguru, are ewe primarily a digital kinda guy? if so, i tink this also may contribute to what yure experiencing - vinyl prolly woodn't show these symptoms as much.

be that as it may, i can vouch for the cary slp98 - an *excellent* pre that will do that toob-thing without being coloured - it's wery accurate, imho. that being said, if it were *my* money, i'd take a risk & go for a melos - either a sha-gold/maestro, at a quite bit less than a used cary, or a melos ma-333/music-director, at a bit more $$$. in fact, this is yust what i *did* do w/my money! ;~) while the cary was a bit better all-around, than a hot-rod rogue 99 i tried, (except bass & accuracy, where it's a *lot* better, imo), the melos music-director, which i got, is in another league altogether, imho. i think this preamp will acquit itself well against *any* current top preamps, and, cuz of melos' recent difficulties, they are a bargain on the used market.

i also agree w/liz, that if yer interconnects are long, this will be a likely contributor to yer problems.

good luck, doug

cmschwar
6 posts
 
I have the 777ES and up to about 90 hours it sounded great. After 90 hours, my system sounded exactly like yours. At about 180 hours the foundation came back, but even at 240 hours it is still bright and sibilant.

My system is as follows: 777ES -> AQ Lapis III 1m -> Audible Illusings M3-A most recent version -> Siver Audio Hyacinth 3m -> Bel Canto EVo 200.2 monos -> AQ Sterling II 6' -> Sonus Faber Grand Piano HOME latest version (fantastic speakers).

Adding a second EVo 200.2 is a great idea. When you audition it with the one you have you will keep it.

I do not know if the passive EVS Ultimate Attenuators are the problem or not. I am pulling my hair out hoping that the brightness goes away in my system as I approach the much talked about 400 hours of break in. But no one seems to be willing to say what the 'sound' of the 777ES's terrible break in period is like, just that its 'terrible'.

Good luck and let us know if it is indeed the passive preamplification.
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