Daneel
Prominent Member
Have many people done demos of a pre/pro such as the Tag AV32, Arcam AV8, Meridian 568.2 and Lexicon MC1 vs mid-range preamps like the MF A3.2 through Bryston SP25 up to say a MF A308CR (I'm just plucking models at the right price point from respected manufacturers)? I'm wondering how they compare.
Once my finances recover from recent expenditure a pre/pro is high on the list. An improvement in sound for movies would be nice but what I'm really after is a substantial upgrade in 2 channel music from my Pioneer 2011. I'm intending to go 2nd hand and would like to keep it at £1500 but would be willing to stretch to £2000 if there was a noticable improvement by doing so.
If anyone can give me a rough guide to price (and also feature differences but that could be quite a task) on the main contenders that would be very useful.
I'm guessing:
AV32 with 192 upgrade and 5.1 pass-thorough - £1600?
MC1 - £1250?
AV8 - £2000?
568.2 - ??
Are there any others I should consider? There seems to be some Proceeds floating around for about £2k. How does the Parasound C2 do on music (i heard it briefly at rags' but his system is so different to mine I can't really work out how the C2 contributed to the sound)? There is a Linn 5103 in classifieds for £1000.
One thing I would like, as I have found it very useful on my Pioneer, is EQ for each channel. I believe only the Tag has such a feature. Having said that I have found that since my speaker upgrade I find that choosing between direct mode and EQed for music varies from track to track where as previously EQ almost always won.
I was warned that the 926s would be very revealing of flaws in my system and that has proved correct.
I started another thread asking if it was possible to use a 2 channel preamp and my 2011 within the same system. Jeff suggested an Arcam unit at £1500 but for that price I could get one of the above. Are there any other solutions?
Thanks!
Once my finances recover from recent expenditure a pre/pro is high on the list. An improvement in sound for movies would be nice but what I'm really after is a substantial upgrade in 2 channel music from my Pioneer 2011. I'm intending to go 2nd hand and would like to keep it at £1500 but would be willing to stretch to £2000 if there was a noticable improvement by doing so.
If anyone can give me a rough guide to price (and also feature differences but that could be quite a task) on the main contenders that would be very useful.
I'm guessing:
AV32 with 192 upgrade and 5.1 pass-thorough - £1600?
MC1 - £1250?
AV8 - £2000?
568.2 - ??
Are there any others I should consider? There seems to be some Proceeds floating around for about £2k. How does the Parasound C2 do on music (i heard it briefly at rags' but his system is so different to mine I can't really work out how the C2 contributed to the sound)? There is a Linn 5103 in classifieds for £1000.
One thing I would like, as I have found it very useful on my Pioneer, is EQ for each channel. I believe only the Tag has such a feature. Having said that I have found that since my speaker upgrade I find that choosing between direct mode and EQed for music varies from track to track where as previously EQ almost always won.
I was warned that the 926s would be very revealing of flaws in my system and that has proved correct.
I started another thread asking if it was possible to use a 2 channel preamp and my 2011 within the same system. Jeff suggested an Arcam unit at £1500 but for that price I could get one of the above. Are there any other solutions?
Thanks!