Amp / Preamp Suggestions Wanted

Hedgehog,
I haven't heard the Paradigm speakers in a while but if memory serves, they are revealing. For the system you describe, I would devote more money to the front end. The Adcom preamp is a very revealing piece and I don't have much respect for the Adcom 575 as a transport. I had one and used it in that capacity. It sounded thin going through a Theta processor. I haven't heard the Adcom d to a but I have a little more faith in it. You might consider picking up a Rotel RDD-980 transport if cash is an issue. I see there are a number available for around $300 and imo it is much better than the Adcom. As far as the amps, it has been a long time since I heard Bryston. Counterpoint amps can be ruthless in the upper mids and highs. Maybe using the Krell preamp would be the logical choice to balance the system some to the warm side. Again, I see the system being very revealing. Maybe you could tame it a bit with the right cable choice. I don't have a lot of experience here. I have used mostly MIT and been very happy with them. Good luck!

Tim

Thanks, for the input, Tim. I am leaning toward the Krell preamp, as it is available at a fair price and I haven't ventured in Krell's direction as of yet. I intend to use DH Labs interconnects and will bi-wire the speaks with same.

hi hedgehog,

i'd recommend a tubed preamp. *especially* if cd is gonna be your main source. i'm partial to melos, & the sha-gold/maestro is excellent, usually awailable for ~$1k used. if getting a melos is to scary for ya, then the cary slp-98 can be found for a bit more than the melos.

re: amps, for solid-state, i'm partial to electrocompaniet, not yust cuz i have an excellent aw100 currently f/s... ;~) it's f/s cuz it's an older, not-bridgeable wersion, & i want the option of running a pair of electro amps in bridged-mono set-up.

good luck, doug

I recently paired a Anthem pre2L with a Marsh 400s and WOW! This is a good pair to listen to if you get a chance. The Marsh so impressed me that I got rid of my Aragon 4004 and gor a Anthem amp1(Could not handle the Marsh price tag and the Anthem was a demo) Best of luck

You may want to consider the Odyssey Audio Stratos amp and Tempest preamp combo. These are SS units that have musical palpability that rival, or better, units 3-4X their cost, and are sonic bargains in the high-end community (about$1k each). You can check them out at odysseyaudio.com or call (317)299-5578 and speak with Klaus. I have a pair of the Stratos mono's and their sound is significantly better than any other amp I've previously used (mostly Audio Research).