Pre & Power amp for £700

krishen

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hi guys, I have recently converted my garage into a games room which i have now put some of my system in. previously I had the system in my lounge for movies (which hasnt been used for that purpose). The equipment i have is Monitor audio RS6av speaker system, TAG mclaren av32r processor and pass labs x5 amp. I am now wanting to go into a full hifi system so will sell my processor centre and rear speakers.

my questions are:

1.) What will be a gd pre and power amp option for around 1K (Second hand)
2.) I will be keeping my subwoofer and want to connect this to the hifi system, what do i need to be able to do this?

thanks, Krish
 
Assuming you mean a Stereo system, I think you will have trouble finding a new Pre/Power system for £700.

The Rotel RC-1550 pre-amp would be considered modestly priced at £495, and the smallest matching power amp would be the Rotel RB-1552 with 120w/ch for about £695. (£1190 total)

Pre/Power is nice, but it doesn't make much economic sense when you can get a similar Integrated amps for about half that.

When you say "Pass Labs 5x amps" do you mean a single unit 5 channel amp?


In terms of the Subwoofer, you simply need to buy or have a Sub that has both High level/Speaker Level input and Low Level input. Speaker Level are usually connected using speaker terminals, Low Level are your typical RCA-phono type connectors.

In addition, the amp, or pre-amp must either have a specific Subwoofer output, or it must have available Pre-Amp outputs to feed the Sub.

In terms of second hand, you are at the mercy of what is available at the moment. Any Pre/Power brand that was good when it was new is still going to be good. It is just a matter of finding out what is available.

Steve/bluewizard
 
hi guys, I have recently converted my garage into a games room which i have now put some of my system in. previously I had the system in my lounge for movies (which hasnt been used for that purpose). The equipment i have is Monitor audio RS6av speaker system, TAG mclaren av32r processor and pass labs x5 amp. I am now wanting to go into a full hifi system so will sell my processor centre and rear speakers.

my questions are:

1.) What will be a gd pre and power amp option for around 1K (Second hand)
2.) I will be keeping my subwoofer and want to connect this to the hifi system, what do i need to be able to do this?

thanks, Krish

Hi Krish

Whats wrong with your current system? Looks good to me! Also, I see it's in the garage - has this been furnished/carpeted etc? I suspect the biggest improvement to your system would be with the room.

regards
 
Your budget is tight or a pr / power combo, not out of the question though if you're thrifty. I just picked my self a brand new Quad 909 power amp, it's just been replaced with a new model so a few bargains to be had on remaining stock. Plenty of power at 140wpc, a well respected amp at £1k and if you're quick can be picked up for £600 now.

For a pre you could consider the DAC Magic 2, not heard it myself but belive it can be used as a pre too and would represent a cheap solution. Personally I've been looking at the Croft Acoustics pre amps for my Quad. There are 3 modles; Micro 25 basic, Micro 25 and Micro 25 R which are priced at £400, £700 and £1,400 respectivley. These are had made by Glenn Croft himself, valve pre-amps with the entry model at £400! It's hard to find a pre at all at that price.

Maybe if you're lucky you could find some second hand Albarry power amps, really good.

Like mentioned elsewhere your system is pretty good already so given budget will be tough to better.
 
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my current system is more accommodating for a home cinema sound. i now want a ful 2.1 system.

and yes the pass labs is a single unit of 5 channels, which i wont need now.

my games room has wooden floor and the sound is much better than when it was in my lounge, however i feel the outdated processor lets the system down.

My thoughts have been towards Musical fidelity A3 pre and power or at a stretch A3.2, they seem to go for around 400-500 pounds.

I also have a sugden cd21 series 2 cd player.

my Subwoofer is montor audio rsw-12 and has only low level connections i,e phono rca connectons, no speaker terminals, how exactly will this work with a stereo pre amp?

thanks for the replies so far.
 
definately agree, jus need to decide what to go for and be sure i can connect my subwoofer to the system.
 
Just to add, im looking for a relatively warm sound as my monitor audio rs6 can be slightly bright. any1 had experience of the musical fidelity a3 series, or any othe decent pre- power amp combos
 
No experience of MF pre/power combos. Owned a MF A3 integrated before my present MF A3.2 integrated. In my opinion both very well behaved amplifiers. I'd have no hesitation recommending the MF brand and sound. My amp before these two was a Cambridge Azur 640A, I'd certainly keep that well away from bright speakers. Hope this helps.
 
Was there a significant step up from the a3 to the a3.2? how would u describe the sound of the a3.2?

and still unsure of how to connect my sub to a stereo pre amp.
 
On paper, the difference was the 50% extra power that the A3.2 had. It came up at the right price and so I went for it. No huge difference discernable immediately at low listening levels. When played more loudly, the extra power is apparent in the delivery of transients. More immediate and less of a slouch. The A3's no slouch, these are relative terms I'm using. I didn't have my Quads when I had the A3, but they go very low and need an amp that can control them. The A3.2 does an admirable job in my opinion. All of this is subjective and I'm unlikely to say that my amplifier is rubbish am I ? I've had 2 Rotels, 2 Audiolabs, 1 Cambridge and the 2 Musical Fidelity's I write about. I presently have the best amp I have ever owned. Sure there's better out there at a price, so I'm told !! I don't have the urge to investigate change as the MF satisfies me.
 
Still, this is known good quality and only £1120 and NEW -

Rotel PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS - RC-1550 Stereo Pre-Amp

Rotel PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS - RB-1552 Stereo Power Amp

Though I can't fault Musical Fidelity equipment.

In NEW Musical Fidelity, their current Pre/Power in the 'M6' series are WELL out of your price range, but the MF-M3i Integrated amp with 75w/ch is close at about £1000.

Musical Fidelity M3i integrated amplifier available in a black or silver finish, with free UK delivery from Hifi Gear

Just pointing out the alternatives.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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thanks for the replies guys, i hav seen the mf m3i, do u think this would be a step up from a3 pre and power combo?
 
Also had a little change around wiv my subwoofer settings and used the tape outs on my processor to my line in on my subwoofer, could this be done wiv a tape connection on a MF preamp?
 
Don't think so. My understanding is that a tape out is a constant level and independent of the volume control. You'd need a pre-out so that your volume knob controls the sub too ! Trouble is your pre-out is going to your power amp. I'm not familiar with feeding subs from a stereo amp. Maybe you can take a parallel feed to it from the pre-out ? Others on here will be better qualified to comment. The MF A3 and A3.2 are of an age when subwoofers weren't prevalent. Good floorstanders will negate the need for a sub in my opinion and the sound will be seamless instead of you having to mess about with frequency cut offs etc.
 
yh i still need to be conclusive as to whether i can do this with that type of equipment, i lke the subwoofer for the extra low freq so wud definately want to make use of it. i think some kind of y splitter will allow me to do this?
 
You can use a "Y" cable to split the Pre-Amp Out signal between the Power amp and the Subwoofer. These are both high impedance inputs and represent very little load to the driving circuit.

I do this with my Yamaha Integrated amp, I take the Pre-Out into a Y-cable, the feed one end back into the power amp section of the Yamaha, and take the other leg of the "Y" to feed a second amp. In my case, it is so I can drive two sets of speakers, though it is the perfect setup for Bi-Amping.

In your case, one leg drives the power amps, and one leg drives the Subwoofer.

In my case, though I'm not sure why, I have to turn the Slave amp on before I turn the Main amp on, otherwise it causes the Main amp to shut down. However, when I do turn the Slave amp on first, the system performs flawlessly. I think that is simply a quirk of my system though.

Steve/bluewizard
 
by splitting the signal with a y splitter does these affect the sound of either the man speakers or the sub? can u use tape connectons from the pre amp and the line level in on the subwoofer to connect it up? i did this yday on my tag mclaren av32r processor
 
Tape and other Line Level out are FIXED level, meaning changes to the volume control do not change the output from these connections. So, NO, they won't work.

Use a "Y" splitter, it is your only option, unless, in the unlikely event, you find a pre-amp with TWO Pre-amp outs, or a specific Subwoofer out. I wouldn't hold your breath on that though.

Steve/bluewizard
 

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