2. amps-preamps
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Preamp advice needed

I sold my B&W Nautilus 803's here several years ago. I needed the money but I really miss them and very much regret selling them. I have a pair of Nautilus 805's to get me by until I manage to get something closer to my 803s. I also have a Rotel RB1090 2 channel amp that I don't plan on replacing. It's a good amp. My CD player is an Adcom GCD 750. I also have some pretty decent Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables and an M&K V125 sub. For some time now I've been using the preamp side of my Rotel RA-985BX integrated. It's not too bad. But I'd really like to replace it with a nice preamp. I'm not interested in home theatre equipment. I just want a nice 2 channel preamp that I can also connect my sub to. I listen to a very wide variety of music from classical to hard rock. Sometimes it's loud but mostly it's at an average listening level. There are so many choices out there I don't even know where to begin. I'm willing to spend up to around $1000 for something used. I was thinking tube. I had heard a CJ PV10 a long time ago so I was headed in that direction but I never heard it on my equipment. Not sure i'd be happy with tube anyway but maybe I would. Just not enough experience with them and not sure how that would go with what i have now. I have seen some Krell's on here for what seem like good prices. I mention Krell because I had heard some Krell equipment several years ago and liked what I heard. I'm sure that the KRC-3 would blow away the preamp side of my Rotel integrated. And FWIW I love the Krell styling and am a big fan of "Forbidden Planet" LOL. Anyway, I was hoping that I could get some good advice from some people here. When I look for solid pre's in the $1000 range here I see many that I've never even heard the names of before. I don't care about remote control but it could be nice. I do hook my current system up to my video equipment and watch movies in 2 channel so I want enough connections to handle a few line level inputs. I don't need phono. Thanks in advance for any advice. -keith
udo
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,680 posts
 
Sorry got ahead of myself.Meant to say Rotel
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Maybe a used Adcom 750 pre. V good ss piece w passive and active modes.
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Manley Shrimp for $880.00. This will give you a good taste of tubes. Easily re-sold if you dislike it for any reason.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1271548208&/Manley-Shrimp-Preamplifier

I will say the Rotel amp has a pretty flat sound stage. It will limit your results. Maybe consider a nice integrated as another option.
energizer
113 posts
 
u are correct that there are so many to choose from,it does get confusing.i have a suggestion if u want to try tubes that wont cost you an arm and a leg.you can try a bottle head pre.these are sold as kits.check out the bottlehead.com website.you can find many user reviews.i have seen used pres on both agon and ebay.and i have owned two.they hold their value pretty good, are not expensive,and sound quality is way beyond what is hoped for or expected for the price.
horseface's avatar
horseface
222 posts
 
I would research going to a tubed front end. Possibly an ARC, Cary or Modwright tubed linstage ... at least take a listen. I was running a SS setup for a while with a Rotel amp and once I tried a tube linestage I found it very much to my liking. I was ready to throw in the towel when a friend talked me into trying a tubed front end. I thought it really smoothed out the sound and made my good system sound great.
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