Reel to reel deck directly to power amp ?


Thinking about my totally new future system. The main source is going to be reel to reel deck, most likely Otari two track, possibly Studer A810. I will keep the turntable and run the phono thru deck. So I will need only one input, decks have volume control and preamp. I don't think I will need separate preamp. Do you ?
Power amps could be both transistor and tube, maybe even hybrids - Lamm, as an example, would very much depend on speakers. Don't know what speakers, could be as different as Harbeth and Kharma.
inna

Showing 1 response by teo_audio

potential turn on thumps. Turn on thumps from the deck in question, might be a problem.

Consider investigating that firstly with a preamp and some headphones.

If no combination of reel deck output levels at turn on of said deck, are capable of producing a thump that might damage speakers (if connected directly to the power amp), then you are good to go.

Not all decks are built equal in this, some have thumps of various levels some are designed to have no thump issues of any kind. They are not meant to be hooked up to any power amp directly, even if this can easily be done. Some companies will build with this thump issue in mind, some will build with minimum to no thump concerns at all, and thus some thump of some sort may occur, based on how the given deck is turned on vs it's output level settings.

It’s always wise to check this before going forward. Only takes a few minutes....