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Please give me some ideas mates
Looking for a preamp which has drive and slam yet not too lean in he mids.
Preferably one that has balanced outputs as it would be, potentailly driving interconnects of about 7 to 8m long
ta
Jag
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Hi Jagdeep,
Like Raiderman I too am running an Ayre K1-xe with phono boards into a pair of Active ATC 50's and can confirm everything Raiderman said in his description of this great pre. It's neutral, musical with grear dynamic range without being annoying, it just gets out of the way and leaves the music.Highly recommended!!
One question though, does the Ayre pre invert phase?
I will be running it balanced so it might be an issue. Like you, i use active monitors too... with XLR connectors
Jag
Here is a link to the on-line manual.
I use this preamp, and I am extremely satisfied with it. I have had it for a few years now, and I have no urge to upgrade beyond it.It has a very, very good (optional) phono stage.
(So good that I am only tempted to replace it with something like a Manley Steelhead ($7,300) or an ASR Basis Exclusive ($6,000), and there is almost no way I am going to do that anytime soon, due to the costs involved. It is very flexible, having plenty of gain, from about 40 db up to 70 db, and the loading is as flexible too. (It only takes removing the lid of the unit and changing resisters to change either.)It has plenty of inputs (3 SE and 3 balanced, albeit one of those is for the phono stage), so there is lots of flexibility in the number and type of inputs I use.
It has a fair number of outputs too (2 Balanced and one SE).
It has a (optional) remote (albeit a basic one that really only handles volume and muting).
It is solid state, and yet is does not sound like most solid state units. It does not have even a hint of graininess or the stereotypical solid state bright treble. (It does not sound like a tubed unit either, but it has some of those characteristics, as far as having great dynamic range, an extended treble that is not bright, (but has plenty of decay for cymbals and such).) It can image and soundstage with the best preamps I have heard, such as the Lamm L2 and the ARC Ref. 2, mk. II.
About the only downsides that I can imagine it having, is:
A. That it does not have a balance control (but then neither did my last preamp, the ARC LS-2), so I really don't miss it, and
B. The volume control makes a bit of noise, which is inherit due to the complexity of the remote control mechanism. (However, the upside of this type of remote control mechanism, is that it has zero impact on the sonics of the unit, so it is worth it (to me anyway), having to put up with having that little bit of noise while changing the volume level. (Besides, I really don't hear it over the music. But I thought I should mention it.)I don't consider this preamp to be lean in the mid-range, however, compared to some tubed preamps, some people might say it is. It is my opinion, that it is just very neutral. (Personally though, I think it is that some tube preamps have a bit of mid-range bloom, and this might lead some people to think it sounds lean.)
There is a used one for sale on Audiogon (and no, I have no connection to the seller). I have included a link to it. The price seems pretty good to me. (I bought mine used for slightly less, but it did not have the "e" (evolution) upgrade.)
Other solid state preamps to consider would be the Klyne and Rowland preamps.
My two cents worth.
McCormack RLD-1 with Platinum modifications by SMc Audio has all that except the balanced outputs.
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