Preramp for Adcom GFA 565's

Dsper,

I have also heard good things about both Wred4Sound and the Cary 500 MB amps but have never heard either of them. The Wyred4Sound also have an in home demo period so you could return them if you don't like them.
Sorry, don't know much about the Prima Luna 3 preamp except that it's tubed and may be a good match with any of the amps you're considering. Just make sure the output impedance of the preamp is about 1/10th the input impedance of the amp you choose.
Sounds like you\re widening your search which is probably a good thing but it does make it harder to make a decision. Good luck.

Noble100,

Well, I did it.

Ordered Wyred4Sound SX1000 and STP SE preamp. Should arrive this week.

Hope I did not make a mistake!

Dsper

Hi Dsper,

Looks like you made a good choice going with the Wyred4Sound amp and special-edition preamp. From what I've read, the amp may sound a little thin right out of the box and can take about 300 hours to fully break in.

If after break in you find you want a warmer more textured sound, you could always try substituting a tubed preamp and return the Wyred4Sound preamp. The amp should supply plenty of power, over 1100 watts per channel @ 4 ohms, to drive your Magnepan 1.7 speakers. You've got me curious about how this amp would sound driving my power hungry Magnepan 2.7 spkrs.

Please post again, after you get them set up and the amp has broken in, to let us know the results. Thanks and good luck.

Hi Noble100,

Supposed to deliver today so I will keep you posted.

I heard a big difference when I went to the Krell from a Mac amp. Much more dynamic and cleaner sounding for the Maggie 1.7's to my ear.

I suppose that a lot of what I heard was the doubling in wpc to 300 from 160. I cannot imagine what it is going to sound like going to 1100 from 300.

I am hoping for more detail and better soudstage and not just "louder".

Hi Dsper,

I also noticed a large improvement when I went from an Adcom GFA555 with 200 watts to an Aragon 4004 MKII with 400 watts. The sound was better and cleaner from top to bottom.
But, as you know, wattage is only part of the answer with quality being the other key ingredient. I think the improvement I experienced was a change in the sound quality more than just the increased wattage. By quality I'm not only referring to the quality of the parts in the amp but also the inherent sound characteristics of the amp/brand. I hope you experience both an increase in wattage and change in sound quality that matches your taste. Good luck.