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Amp for Dahlquist DQ-10

I have recently discovered this site and appreciate the opportunity to learn about audio from the knowledgable people the participate in this forum.

I have a pair of DQ-10's that I bought new in the late 70's. They always seemed under powered by my Hafler DH-200, but still sounded great. I'm using a Crown IC-150 pre-amp.

I recently purchased an Adcon 555 power amp. That seemed to perk the DQ's up quite a bit and with it my interest in refreshing my system. I'm now considering either replacing the Crown preamp or adding a second Adcom 555 power amp, but I'm not sure which change will give me the most bang for the buck. If the replacement of the preamp is the best route, I'm interested in hearing suggestions of which preamps will mate well with the 555.

Since I will likely be buying used equipment online and won't be able to listen before I buy, I wanted to see if anyone here was willing to offer a suggestion.
laffer
laffer OP
4 posts
 
Thanks for your comments. The pre-amp upgrade seems to make a lot of sense. I've often admired the sound but never developed the knowledge to be confident in this area. I'll research Timlub's recommendation on tube pre-amps. Adding a second 555 is pretty simple and inexpensive, so I can address that later. I'm guessing that the pre-amp will make a more significant improvement than adding power. I like music at high levels, but one 555 is pretty strong by itself.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Stay in the family....adcom gfp 565 preamp...great phono as well....
laffer OP
4 posts
 
Any thoughts on the GFP 565 vs the GFP 750? Cost seems to be about $300 vs $750. I'd want to consider spending the extra $ if it was a significant improvement.

I did see a CJ PF1 in the $4-500 range, but I'm concerned that an older tube pre amp might require more attention than I want to give it (not sure how long tubes last or how tempermental it might be). Is my concern overblown?
timlub
2,039 posts
 
Laffer, the PF1 is Solid State, Nice vintage piece of goods. Tim
timlub
2,039 posts
 
The GFP565 is known to be Adcom's best standard line product, however the GFP750 is not their standard line product, it was contracted by Nelson Pass, there are a ton of threads and arguments about it here on Audiogon, but any way you look at it, it is in another league, better than the GFP565.
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