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VTA SP14


scalawag

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On 5/4/2018 at 6:58 AM, Marvel said:

 

Duh, I would make a statement that the Primalune in about double the cost. What is your point? More money gets you better gear? One would expect that, but it isn't always the case.

 

I will stick with my little brick... JMA Merlin.

 

 

Billy goat gruff.  If you are happy with your entry level gear more power to you.

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On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 1:20 PM, BOBO1957 said:

For the money, the SP14 is a decent entry level Pre.  I added some Mundorf SOG caps and some 181 treasures to mine as well as a third preout for a sub.  Improved the sound but could never get the "hum" from appearing on my Cornwall III or Heresy III drivers.  Played around with grounding etc to no avail.

Upgraded to a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium preamp with the 12AU7 first stage and drivers. You can tube roll to your heart's content with that valve.  Difference is night and day on sound quality and the noise floor is in the cellar now.  PL is also bout 3x or so more $, so I guess you get what ya pay for.

VTA has been demoted to second string in my workroom system for now.

I tried the SP-14 with my MC275 and la Scala II's, and I could not live with the hum it emitted, I tried several options as directed by the builder, and none worked, I had to return it. It does have a floor noise with the Klipsch heritage series of speakers, no matter what you do, and no matter what speakers I tried, Cornwall III's, La Scala II's, Forte II/III's, and Hersey's. . I am using now a NAD M-12 pre amplifier in the same setup, and no floor noise or hum  what so ever, just simply beautiful sound. 

The builder however was excellent to deal with. 

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12 hours ago, BOBO1957 said:

Billy goat gruff.  If you are happy with your entry level gear more power to you.

 

Very entry level price. It was a gift from forum members when my first wife was dying of cancer.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call a $600-800  preamp entry level. I believe it soundly beat the BBX I got later. They don't come up for sale very often...owners want to keep them. So, yeah, more power to me.

 

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  • 2 years later...
On 5/3/2018 at 7:13 PM, No.4 said:

I have not read any other reviews of this pre that report noise issues. Has anyone else had any experience with this pre that can chime in?

hi I have a model one. It has been back to Don about 3 times since I bought it a few years ago. Every problem I’ve had is tube related except once when output caps started melting. Went to Mundorf and good to go. I’ve bought more flipping bad tubes for this thing than I care to admit. Including a “NOS” $60 rectifier. Since I thought it was good started looking elsewhere for hum which was incessant. Turned out a new $6 rca and new cv-181z tubes were all I needed. Tubes are most important.  

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