Another great video. Thank you, Paul, for the continued education. I'm definitely buying your products. No one else is this transparent and honest about the craft.
While living in Japan not far from Tokyo there was a shop selling used LP’s and high end gear. I bought a used Accuphase Power Amp. They gave me a week to try it out. I paired it with a Pioneer integrated amp with Pre outs. It was ok, not great, but just ok. Went back to the shops and got the matching pre amp. Very disappointed so it was returned. My audio guy was a few hours away in Shizuoka. He sent me a Conrad-Johnson PV-3. That was magic. Speakers: SMGa’s. So in my case the matching pre wasn’t a good match.
Good class D power seems a dream to pair - usually a high inZ which is great for passive, and that transparent sound that lets the preamp sing without 'adding' much...The gain structure and resulting noise floor can also be a consideration in general.
I think one point that was missed here and can be problematic is when people attempt to match a tube preamp with a solid state amp. Pure tube preamps (not hybrid) can have two major issues that cause problems: high output impedance, and transients at turn on/off. Some tube preamps can have output impedances in the low thousands of ohms, with rising impedance at low frequencies, due to the coupling capacitor. And some have no muting circuitry at their output, allowing huge dc level shift at the output jacks at turn on, and again at turn off. Because a solid state power amp comes on almost instantly, you can't switch the amp and preamp on together. You have to always turn the preamp on first and wait for it to warm up and only then turn on the power amp. And you use the reverse sequence at turnoff. Many modern tube preamps have mute circuitry, but a lot of people still buy vintage tube preamps. And this is where the interface problems with solid state amps can really pop up.
I was going to say the same. There are plenty of solid state power amps with a 20K or even 10K input impedance that don't play nice with some tube preamps, especially if you are connecting them with long interconnects. I had a customer complaining about dull lifeless sound, and it turned out he was using a PrimaLuna preamp with a 2.8K output impedance, connected with 20 ft interconnects to a Quad power amp with a 20K input impedance.
"gotta use your ears - nothing wrong w/ that" excellent advice. quantitative measures via technical means are critical to design & engineering, & help in making important comparisons among alternatives. while there are reasons to suspect our personal "acoustic perception system", it IS the human component in the chain of how we experience pleasure through live & recorded music.
Most preamps for me chnages based on is range of inputs... I'm a big fan of P.S Audio's early preamplifiers. 4.6 and 5.0 ... clinical and almost laboratory reference. My goto preamplifier in the workshop where we do vintage restorations is the Krell PAM 5. They're good and can be picked up at low $$$.
The preamp is the most important component in the system a decent power should no problem not so important look for a preamp that has good sound stage low impedance lower the better
The biggest problem with preamps is that they usually have too much gain. It would be interesting to hear something about amplifiers with germanium transistors with higher quality such as GT813V, GT806 or even better GT906A in SE topology.
I like Paul but this is a poor saying of someone who don't understand the situation in Israel. As of this writing there are still around 200 hostages including babies (!), children and women who are held captive by Hamas terror organization in the Gaza strip. No stop of fighting untill they are brought safely back to Israel and Hamas is defeated. Would anyone suggest the Allies in WWII to 'stop fighting' Nazi Germany?
I have a Vincent SA-T7mk preamp with Stellar and Parasound amplifiers driving Polk RTI A3 and A7s and the sonics were there and enjoyable until I finally broke down and purchased a P12 power regenerator and now the entire system is GIGANTIC & ALIVE!! What a nice surprise it was to hear So Much more that I had been missing. Thank You for what you do Paul. It's a Beautiful Thing 👍
Would you have any qualms with a DAC having a high output impedance of 625 Ω on RCA and 1250 Ω on XLR going into a powered preamp? Would that be too high, and if so what would it do to the sound? Thanks.
I own an Onkyo M-504 power amplifier with its matching P-304 preamplifier. I also own a Hitachi HMA-7500 power amplifier and its matching HCA-7500 preamplifier. If I had to downsize, which set should I keep?
The more I hear how much sound quality you lose between even a good interconnect and an excellent interconnect, I think you should try to avoid using interconnects as much as possible; unless you can buy a really great one that fits into your budget. Integrated amps avoid that extra interconnect. In my case, Wywires Blue, which is a good budget cable, but compared to Tributaries Series 8, there's obviously some distortion and veiling. A $300 IC cable vs. a $400 one. When the thought occurs to me that people who buy a seperate preamp & power amp, probably aren't going to be using even something as good as the $300 interconnect; it occurs to me that their money buying seperates is going to be pretty much thrown down the drain. I'm not saying don't get seperates, but if you do, promise yourself that at some point (the earlier the better), you'll invest in a superb quality interconnect. There might be some sleepers out there, that don't cost many hindreds of dollars (or more)... I've found some cheaper ones that do many things really nicely, but I've never come across an inexpensive one that does everything right. There's always a wart or two in some aspect of its performance that ruins it for me. What might be a bigger concern than matching preamp to amp, is making sure your preamp isn't so sensitive that it will overload on the peak passages from your source; whatever that may be.
Thats the reality of putting sepperates together.. let me change the subject to nascar.. lets say you buy random parts and build a car from a catalog.or better yet..from various sources..using only numbers and price to guide you to buy parts .then you assemble an expensive nascar approved car.. whats the chances your gonna have a well behaved car that wins the race?, nope..not happening.. it takes synergy..the parts must work well together so they achieve top level performance.. now back to audio. HAVE FUN ON YOUR JOURNEY.. Dont buy on impulse and dont buy something you cant demo in ur house and bring back and tell your opinion..good luck..
Decades ago in Audio magazine there was a Lirpa Labs article on how to modify a single transistor to make a "post amplifier". Pretty simple: Apply high voltage until you establish a low resistance between the emitter and the collector. Today it might be more easily processed in a microwave oven.
@@spacemissingThat brings a question that I rightfully never asked before. I wonder how much throughput an EC short on a typical output device would tolerate before it became open?
@0:09 -- Our host being political, even though he usually says that he does not get into politics in his videos. "Everybody, just stop fighting." How lovingly of you to advise the state if Israel on what to do, while tucked away safely in Boulder Colorado. If terrorists flew in to Boulder, and beheaded your children, and kidnapped your spouse, would you stand by your "Just stop fighting" position? Paul, you often tell your viewers about your world traveling adventures -- most recently your trip to Italy and your dining experience. Take a trip to Israel for two weeks. Then, spend the next two weeks in Gaza. For both locations, tell the locals that you are gay, are friends with both Jews and Arabs, and that your wife is an equal partner, and "Everybody, just stop fighting". Let us know how it goes.
I wish I would have known about this 2 years ago. I own a McIntosh 200 wpc power amp, a 1000watt sub amp and bought a tube pre-amp to replace the solid state Adcom pre-amp. No guda!😢 The tube pre-amp can't drive anything! The gain is full up on both pre-amp and amplifier and it barely works.😢 Is there a fix or did I waste $1100 on a tube pre-amp? Can I put a small mixer in between the components to increase the gain?
@@YouSoundButtHurt Why use a prehistoric and inferior technology like tubes, they sound like shit and are so weak, only a couple of watts at most while transistors are so strong with literally 100's of watts!
Another great video. Thank you, Paul, for the continued education. I'm definitely buying your products. No one else is this transparent and honest about the craft.
While living in Japan not far from Tokyo there was a shop selling used LP’s and high end gear. I bought a used Accuphase Power Amp. They gave me a week to try it out. I paired it with a Pioneer integrated amp with Pre outs. It was ok, not great, but just ok. Went back to the shops and got the matching pre amp. Very disappointed so it was returned. My audio guy was a few hours away in Shizuoka. He sent me a Conrad-Johnson PV-3. That was magic. Speakers: SMGa’s. So in my case the matching pre wasn’t a good match.
Thank you so much Paul for the answer and for all your videos and mostly for taking care of your audience/customers ❤😊
Good class D power seems a dream to pair - usually a high inZ which is great for passive, and that transparent sound that lets the preamp sing without 'adding' much...The gain structure and resulting noise floor can also be a consideration in general.
I think one point that was missed here and can be problematic is when people attempt to match a tube preamp with a solid state amp. Pure tube preamps (not hybrid) can have two major issues that cause problems: high output impedance, and transients at turn on/off. Some tube preamps can have output impedances in the low thousands of ohms, with rising impedance at low frequencies, due to the coupling capacitor. And some have no muting circuitry at their output, allowing huge dc level shift at the output jacks at turn on, and again at turn off. Because a solid state power amp comes on almost instantly, you can't switch the amp and preamp on together. You have to always turn the preamp on first and wait for it to warm up and only then turn on the power amp. And you use the reverse sequence at turnoff. Many modern tube preamps have mute circuitry, but a lot of people still buy vintage tube preamps. And this is where the interface problems with solid state amps can really pop up.
I was going to say the same. There are plenty of solid state power amps with a 20K or even 10K input impedance that don't play nice with some tube preamps, especially if you are connecting them with long interconnects. I had a customer complaining about dull lifeless sound, and it turned out he was using a PrimaLuna preamp with a 2.8K output impedance, connected with 20 ft interconnects to a Quad power amp with a 20K input impedance.
Why wouldn't any modern-day amp have a soft start circuit? Doesn't make sense
"gotta use your ears - nothing wrong w/ that"
excellent advice. quantitative measures via technical means are critical to design & engineering, & help in making important comparisons among alternatives. while there are reasons to suspect our personal "acoustic perception system", it IS the human component in the chain of how we experience pleasure through live & recorded music.
Most preamps for me chnages based on is range of inputs... I'm a big fan of P.S Audio's early preamplifiers. 4.6 and 5.0 ... clinical and almost laboratory reference. My goto preamplifier in the workshop where we do vintage restorations is the Krell PAM 5. They're good and can be picked up at low $$$.
The preamp is the most important component in the system a decent power should no problem not so important look for a preamp that has good sound stage low impedance lower the better
The biggest problem with preamps is that they usually have too much gain. It would be interesting to hear something about amplifiers with germanium transistors with higher quality such as GT813V, GT806 or even better GT906A in SE topology.
That's a great answer and the correct one IMO. Synergy Uber Ales! Your ears should tell you the rest
Stop the kidnapping and the rest will follow, Paul. Anyway, I know your heart is in the right place. Thanks for the video.
Always great advice Paul….. now how about you speed up production on those stellar gold preamps so i can get one😂
0:12 perfectly said!!
I like Paul but this is a poor saying of someone who don't understand the situation in Israel.
As of this writing there are still around 200 hostages including babies (!), children and women who are held captive by Hamas terror organization in the Gaza strip.
No stop of fighting untill they are brought safely back to Israel and Hamas is defeated.
Would anyone suggest the Allies in WWII to 'stop fighting' Nazi Germany?
I have a Vincent SA-T7mk preamp with Stellar and Parasound amplifiers driving Polk RTI A3 and A7s and the sonics were there and enjoyable until I finally broke down and purchased a P12 power regenerator and now the entire system is GIGANTIC & ALIVE!! What a nice surprise it was to hear So Much more that I had been missing. Thank You for what you do Paul. It's a Beautiful Thing 👍
Ok....Lol!
Passive pre (resistor) has been the milk to my honey tube amps
Can’t wait to see the subs he designs. If he is designing a sub.
An easy way is Buy Matching Components From The Same Manufacturer.
This is not guaranteed to be the Best method, however.
When having an integrated amp, is it a waste of money to buy a pre-amp as they must already have matched inside the "best" pre-amp for the amp part?
Would you have any qualms with a DAC having a high output impedance of 625 Ω on RCA and 1250 Ω on XLR going into a powered preamp? Would that be too high, and if so what would it do to the sound? Thanks.
Yeah, if there is an impedance matching issue when connecting via balanced or phono plugs, it's due to bad engineering.
Paul...your FR-30 seems to have toppled...
I own an Onkyo M-504 power amplifier with its matching P-304 preamplifier. I also own a Hitachi HMA-7500 power amplifier and its matching HCA-7500 preamplifier. If I had to downsize, which set should I keep?
The one you like the most.
@@hugobloemers4425
Based on specs.
Obviously, one is prettier.
The P-304 is well respected. I had one and sold it for around $400.
That's one of the easiest matchups we have as audio guys. If you bought a good one, chances are you won't have issues.
The more I hear how much sound quality you lose between even a good interconnect and an excellent interconnect, I think you should try to avoid using interconnects as much as possible; unless you can buy a really great one that fits into your budget. Integrated amps avoid that extra interconnect. In my case, Wywires Blue, which is a good budget cable, but compared to Tributaries Series 8, there's obviously some distortion and veiling. A $300 IC cable vs. a $400 one. When the thought occurs to me that people who buy a seperate preamp & power amp, probably aren't going to be using even something as good as the $300 interconnect; it occurs to me that their money buying seperates is going to be pretty much thrown down the drain.
I'm not saying don't get seperates, but if you do, promise yourself that at some point (the earlier the better), you'll invest in a superb quality interconnect. There might be some sleepers out there, that don't cost many hindreds of dollars (or more)... I've found some cheaper ones that do many things really nicely, but I've never come across an inexpensive one that does everything right. There's always a wart or two in some aspect of its performance that ruins it for me.
What might be a bigger concern than matching preamp to amp, is making sure your preamp isn't so sensitive that it will overload on the peak passages from your source; whatever that may be.
Thats the reality of putting sepperates together.. let me change the subject to nascar.. lets say you buy random parts and build a car from a catalog.or better yet..from various sources..using only numbers and price to guide you to buy parts
.then you assemble an expensive nascar approved car.. whats the chances your gonna have a well behaved car that wins the race?, nope..not happening.. it takes synergy..the parts must work well together so they achieve top level performance.. now back to audio. HAVE FUN ON YOUR JOURNEY.. Dont buy on impulse and dont buy something you cant demo in ur house and bring back and tell your opinion..good luck..
Sent an email for you ( to sales ) . Thanks. Ronen.
How can I match afteramps ? Everyone is talking about preamps , why no one is mentioning afteramps ? LOL
After amps are the speakers. Lol!
Decades ago in Audio magazine there was a Lirpa Labs article
on how to modify a single transistor to make a "post amplifier".
Pretty simple: Apply high voltage until you establish a low resistance between the emitter and the collector.
Today it might be more easily processed in a microwave oven.
I don't get it…
@@spacemissingThat brings a question that I rightfully never asked before. I wonder how much throughput an EC short on a typical output device would tolerate before it became open?
I guess you're a foreigner or something. The opposite of a "preamp" would be a "postamp". I guess that's the joke you were trying to make.
@0:09 -- Our host being political, even though he usually says that he does not get into politics in his videos.
"Everybody, just stop fighting."
How lovingly of you to advise the state if Israel on what to do, while tucked away safely in Boulder Colorado.
If terrorists flew in to Boulder, and beheaded your children, and kidnapped your spouse, would you stand by your "Just stop fighting" position?
Paul, you often tell your viewers about your world traveling adventures -- most recently your trip to Italy and your dining experience.
Take a trip to Israel for two weeks. Then, spend the next two weeks in Gaza.
For both locations, tell the locals that you are gay, are friends with both Jews and Arabs, and that your wife is an equal partner, and "Everybody, just stop fighting".
Let us know how it goes.
Thank you Paul for addressing the situation in Israel. Love you and your channel. I hope one day you get to visit Israel.
I wish I would have known about this 2 years ago.
I own a McIntosh 200 wpc power amp, a 1000watt sub amp and bought a tube pre-amp to replace the solid state Adcom pre-amp. No guda!😢 The tube pre-amp can't drive anything! The gain is full up on both pre-amp and amplifier and it barely works.😢 Is there a fix or did I waste $1100 on a tube pre-amp? Can I put a small mixer in between the components to increase the gain?
What tube pre-amp did you buy?
@@YouSoundButtHurt I just moved, It's packed away in a box, I'll get back to you.
Tubes are just so WEAK 😴 transistors are STRONG 💪 Just get rid off the tubes!
@@RoderikvanReekum That's one of the dumber comments I've seen today. Great job.
@@YouSoundButtHurt Why use a prehistoric and inferior technology like tubes, they sound like shit and are so weak, only a couple of watts at most while transistors are so strong with literally 100's of watts!