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Pre-amp upgrade time?

My current system: AR Ref110 tube amp, Cary slp03 pre, Cary cdp1 and ProAc Response D25.
I am getting Sony Hap-Z1ES this weekend. 
Music I like is mostly progressive rock and ambient electronic....
Love hearing wide soundstage, well defined instruments, clear vocals smack in the center but also quick, fast, tight bass.
Always tend to gravitate towards tubes but also felt in the past that they sometimes sound too slow and weak.... Wasn't happy with Cary 120 mk2, was OK with Sonic Frontier but didn't care for Pass Aleph 0s.(I know they are SS but sound like tubes).
Overall happy now but also ready for an upgrade..... I think that my amp is the strongest link in my system and while my CDP might be weakest...I think I would get most improvement if I look to upgrade my pre-amp.
What would you recommend and should I try to add SS preamp or stick to tubes?

Thanks
ether
hk_fan
314 posts
 
Here's another quote from an interview with Mr. Pass regarding active vs passive preamps:

AR: What's your position on passive versus active preamps?

NP: You'd think that a minimalist switch and variable resistor in a box would be as good or better than active stages, but often it is not.

Some of the issues are well understood; for instance if the resistance value of the potentiometer is low, the source can have bass issues due to the output coupling capacitance and higher distortion due to greater load current. At the other extreme, if the resistance is too high it can create distortion and high frequency issues by presenting a high source impedance to the power amp.

Then there are things that don't show up in the usual measurements and we simply observe that the active circuit sounds better than the passive.

I file these under "How About That".

http://audiophilereview.com/amps/nelson-pass-interview.html


mirvallen
1 posts
 
http://www.rotel.com/product/rc-1590
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
source can have bass issues due to the output coupling capacitance and higher distortion due to greater load current.

if the resistance value of the potentiometer is low, the source can have bass issues due to the output coupling capacitor.

Exacatly the same if it sees a 10kohm passive or a Class-D amp which many are 10kohm as well.

It’s the fault of the coupling cap in the source or preamp output not being large enough in mF’s, not the fault of the passive, this is why I have always said the best cap is no cap, dc servos can take the place of them. 

This why I state, low output impedance "across the audio band" for passives even if they have a coupling cap, and why Stereophile come down on coupling caps not being large enough on sources or preamps outputs they test, because this coupling cap is expensive, and the larger they are the more they cost. hail DC servo’s

Cheers George
handymann
298 posts
 
Everyone's preference is different. If u want really tight bass, but smooth highs and mids, try tubes in the front with a beefy SS power amp.  Class A bias is best for that quick and tight bottom end.  I have had a couple of Krell power amps and am very happy with their performance. You're used to the tube rush sound, so this may be worth a try.  I've been using a Calypso as my preamp, with Krell mono blocks as my power. For the first time, I'm happy just to sit and listen. 
nordicnorm
173 posts
 
Check out the Coincident Technology Statement Linestage ($6,000 new):
http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/preamps.html

Here are a couple of reviews:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-coincident-speaker-technology-statement-linestage-tube-preamp

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Statement.html
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