Entry Level Pre Amplifier

[DualClutch]

I just bought an Onkyo M-282 Power Amplifier and am looking for a suiting Pre Amp. for the near future. I am trying to keep it under $200. Any suggestions?

 

[Seth=L]

Audiosource on Amazon for new, for used look at Adcom on eBay.

 

[DualClutch]

Yeah, I started researching the Audiosource Preamp and could barely find satisfactory reviews. Many said it wasnt a solid preamplifier at all and would hinder sound quality. Any arguments against these findings?

 

[davidtwotrees]

Gosh, for under $200 clams I don't think you're gonna be getting a big bunch of rave reviews on any new electronics, do you?
I'm with Seth......look on ebay. Be patient, and watch the auctions. Check the completed listings to see what units are worth. Then start your bidding. Often if you check daily, you will see an auction with buy it now that is in your wheel house and can grab it. Adcom has a ton of preamps that come up for sale on there. They must have good build quality as there is a lot of them left from the eighties and nineties........

 

[highfihoney]

I dont think you are going to find a new model preamp for under $200 unless its a peice of junk,used is the only way to go,nevermind ebay,Audiogon is the place to score the best deals on cheap gear.

Audiophiles dump great gear dirt cheap on this site.

Here's a kick a$$ Sony that you should leap all over.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1201649954

Here's one but it may be a bit over your budget,J/K

http://128.121.228.176/i/c/f/1194470824.jpg

 

[Seth=L]

I dont think you are going to find a new model preamp for under $200 unless its a peice of junk,used is the only way to go,nevermind ebay,Audiogon is the place to score the best deals on cheap gear.

Audiophiles dump great gear dirt cheap on this site.

Here's a kick a$$ Sony that you should leap all over.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1201649954

Here's one but it may be a bit over your budget,J/K

http://128.121.228.176/i/c/f/1194470824.jpg

That Sony is a good deal. Sony ES made some very nice solid performing preamps.

 

[DualClutch]

And there is no harm in buying a pre-owned unit? Are preamplifiers proned to diminished reliability and quality after use?

 

[Nomo]

Everything, new or used, has a chance for reliability problems. But at your price range it's basically what you're faced with.
While I'm not a huge Sony fan of late, they did at times make quality equipment. That unit falls into that category.
BTW, I still own that Onkyo amp. It's currently in storage but for relatively efficient speakers I think it's very under rated.

 

[MUDSHARK]

I'd rather have a used amp/pre-amp from good companies such as Adcom , Parasound, Bryston, etc... than new equipment by lesser manufacturers. The companies make their products to last long years. Also in addition to Adcom look for used Outlaw pre-amps. You just might get lucky and find one cheap. Good hunting.

 

[highfihoney]

And there is no harm in buying a pre-owned unit? Are preamplifiers proned to diminished reliability and quality after use?

No,used gear is not prone to any more defects over new gear,infact ive found just the oposite with new gear having more problems requiring service,from my experience used gear is more dependable because its allready been put to the test & lasted many years.

Hifi & stereo gear is not like a TV,warrenty's are over rated in most cases & in all cases over charged,from my experience warranty's are only usefull for bottom of the barrel gear with questionable build quality & quality control to start with,there is a reason why mid-fi & hi end gear costs more,build quality & quality control attest for much of the cost,its not all hype as others will have you believe.

Dont get sucked into being scared of used gear/speakers over the warrenty issue,even if service is required in the future the savings from buying used still make up for the cost of service,usually many times over.

I think alot of people fixate on warrenty being an issue without having any real meaningfull ewxperience with used gear,dont be scared of buying used if you want to save a big wad o cash.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I just bought an Onkyo M-282 Power Amplifier and am looking for a suiting Pre Amp. for the near future. I am trying to keep it under $200. Any suggestions?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adcom-GTP-740-dts-Dolby-Digital-Processor-Preamplifier_W0QQitemZ250192122080QQihZ015QQcategoryZ14978QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adcom-GTP-500-Preamplifier-Tuner-Very-Nice-No-Rsrv_W0QQitemZ250191695539QQihZ015QQcategoryZ12050QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/David-Hafler-The-Preamplifier-Stereo-Preamp-Model-110_W0QQitemZ110198840594QQihZ001QQcategoryZ12050QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Carver-CT-25-1-AV-Preamplifier-PREAMP-Tuner-Control-AMP_W0QQitemZ320187755193QQihZ011QQcategoryZ12050QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[DualClutch]

Thanks all for the useful advice. Special thanks to AcuDeftechGuy for the heads up on the ebay items. I will be watching these and now I know what to look for. Thanks again.

 

[DualClutch]

I have another question. When my cd player is hooked up to my preamp then to my power amp, is the digital to analog converting still being done solely by my cd player or will the preamp play in role in it?

 

[Seth=L]

I have another question. When my cd player is hooked up to my preamp then to my power amp, is the digital to analog converting still being done solely by my cd player or will the preamp play in role in it?

It is done solely by the receiver. There are a few stereo preamps out there that have built in DACs, but they are rare and usually expensive. About the cheapest ones you can get are the Sony ES models that support that feature (the one linked by HiFiHoney in this thread does not support such a feature).

A preamp/processor would also have DACs, but their design is usually home theater driven and typically cost more.

The DACs in your CD player should be great though, most CD players are hard to tell from one another, unless they are just useless garbage.

 

[DualClutch]

Thanks Seth.

 

[highfihoney]

I have another question. When my cd player is hooked up to my preamp then to my power amp, is the digital to analog converting still being done solely by my cd player or will the preamp play in role in it?

It all depends on the connection used,if you use a standard rca connection the D to A processing is still being done in the cd player,same goes for using Balanced connections,the D to A conversion is in the cd player.

In order to use built in dac's within the receiver & bypass the internal dac's within the cd player you'd need to use an optical connection from the player to the receiver or preamp in this case.

 

[DualClutch]

Btw, if I were to use a receiver in place of a preamplifier, would the power going to the speakers equal that of the power amplifier plus the power of the receiver?

 

[highfihoney]

Btw, if I were to use a receiver in place of a preamplifier, would the power going to the speakers equal that of the power amplifier plus the power of the receiver?

No........

 

[DualClutch]

ok, I was just wondering. Thanks.

 

[Seth=L]

ok, I was just wondering. Thanks.

What receiver did you have in mind?