Time to upgrade - need advice

Any suggestions ona tubed pre/SS amp combo. I lesten to mostly classic rock. My speakers are B&W N804 & ASW800 sub. Thanks for all replies.

your weakest link is probably your pre-amp.

i had have been very fond of rotel over the years. it was my first upgrade into entry level separates. recently had to seek out new equipment as my rotel pre petered out. she was very good to me and to be honest - it was difficult to find anything that the rotel line had to offer that was nearly as musical as my original $550 8-9 yr. old pre.

i auditioned all of the newer rotel pre-amps with all my familiar gear.... with disheartening results. the only one that even began to sound as musical was their highest end model @ $1500. my ear tells me that their new amps are still decent - but their pre-amps are not nearly what they once were.

this got me thinking - if i am going to spend 3x the bones just to get back where i was - then why not consider how far this same $ could go toward used higher end.

my ‘go-to’ high-end sales associate here in san diego was very patient thru my ‘rotel dependancy’ withdraw process. when i could’nt hear the music i was listening for with rotel he finally encouraged me listen to a 10 year old audio research LS3 pre-amp. let me tell you the difference was night and day. i ended up spending $800 on something that was light-years beyond my current paradigm.

get out and start doing some critical listening of all kinds of gear. find a good hi-end store that shares your love for music. take your system in for side by side comparassons. have them set up a sound stages close to what you have at home and let your senses be your guide.

p.s. don’t underestimate the benefits of cleaning up the electricity with a power conditioner... improved my systems sound by 60%

A buddy of mine has your speakers. For shits and grins I brought over my Krell 400xi integrated. We rocked the house down! Sounded phenomenal. Tight, smooth and dynamic. Sell both the amp and pre-amp and get a used Krell, it will be under 2 grand. That should keep you on budget.

After I left, he re-hooked up his Denon receiver, all I can say is blah. Flubby and week. The Krell kicked ass w/ those B&W's. I have the CDM9's, not as nice as your speakers. The Krell will sound outstanding.

Miner42,

Might I suggest a Musical Fidelity A308 Integrated. I feel that this would fit the bill nicely. There is currently one here on the gon for $1699.00 which is within your budget.

I use one to drive my N803's with great satisfaction. FWIW I have a warm detailed system.

Michael

I use the Bryston 4bst mated to a Cary slp98 with great results; rock, classic rock, jazz, blues it all sounds great.