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Recommended Preamp for pairing an Adcom 555II Amp and Theil CS 3.5 speakers

My Bryston 0.5B preamp was inadvertently put down over the holidays by an incident now known as 'The Sippy Cup Mystery'.  Regardless of the cause, I need a new preamp for my system.  I am driving a pair of Thiel CS 3.5  (with the electronic bass equalizer) speakers with an Adcom GFA-555II amp.  The majority of the eclectic music (classical, 80s, folk, funk) being played on the system is streamed from iTunes through my Audioengine B1 DAC.  I have read a number of posts with various recommendations for the GFA-555II or the Thiel CS 3.5s but not for their paring.  Short of winning the lottery this week, cost is a factor. Any suggestions or directions would be very much appreciated.
iowanna33

Showing 2 responses by kalali

kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
I have had the older 555 paired with the 750 preamp for many years in my vinyl only system. I recently bought a full-tube preamp for another system and used it with the 555 for a few days and it really rounded out the rough edges, especially when played at higher volumes. There's another thread where someone is asking for tube preamp recommendations and should give you some good ideas. Lots of options out there, new or used.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 

While george is right about the specs on paper, the actual outcome is a different story. I have tried the $49 Schiit Sys between my CD player and 555 and the sound quality was completely lifeless and flat as compared with my Adcom preamp and nowhere near the sound quality when I experimented with the tube preamp in there. The volume control on the Sys is also marginal at best. But it's definitely worth the $49 price when used as an input selector.

What's the budget?

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