amp or preamp..what should i keep?


I have a forte mod 3 amp and a ocm 55 preamp on the front end pushing some paradigm studio 60 v3 with a kinergetics sw150 sub. I dont think the amp and pre match up so well and not sure if i should invest in a new amp or preamp? cd player is a music hall 2.5. my budget would be around 700.
magnus89
thanks for your response, what im looking for is a little warmer sound,more presence and a better soundstage.
i would experiment with interconnects and speaker cable and placement before throwing anything under the bus. the system on paper sounds good to me.
Your amp and preamp have good reputations, and one poster says they should be a good match. Others who know these electronics well are welcome to correct me, but if you are not satisfied with your sound I would not look to the amp and preamp myself. Instead I would consider either a source or a speaker upgrade, or both. Your Music Hall player, for example, is great at its price, but it's possible to do better still.

A DAC, perhaps but not necessarily a tubed one, would be an option, but you would have to add the price of a good 1.5m digital interconnect. You might find an Apogee Mini-DAC and a VH Audio cryo Pulsar cable within your budget. (I only mention the ones I know in that price range, but there are others of course.)

Otherwise you can find smoother, more 3-D sound going up the Shanling line. The tubed CD-T80 would be one big step up from the 25.2, the JAS Audio Musik 1.2 would be another. These and other one-box players retail around $1200 and might be found used within your budget.

If you could describe what it is about your sound that you don't like, that might help us to suggest alternatives.
im looking for a sound a little more laid back but with a nice quick and fast bass along with crisp clean upper freqs. but would like the vocals to stand out a little more than they are right now. right now they seem to take a back seat to everything else.

mike