Mattsa Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Hi Would like to see if anyone here could give me a few extra ideas for a suitable preamp? Bought a used Parasound A21 in good condition about a month ago and I really like it! I live in Sweden and here we only have one store that carries Parasound in the whole country, although I like that particular dealer and bought stuff there before It would be nice to see if anyone on here that uses the A21 can give some feedback, good or bad about matching preamp! First my system is for two-channel only and at the moment consists of: Klipsch Rf7ll 2 x BK electronis Monolith subs Parasound A21 Copland CDA823 (modded with a digital in to be used as DAC also) Rega rp3 At the moment I have a Musical Fidelity A3.2cr as preamp. The A3.2cr is nice, never sounds harsh and are built like a tank but it only have one pair of Pre-out and something tells me that there might be a better match than Parasound and Musical Fidelity? I know that the easy way would be to buy a Parasound P5 or JC-2, unfortunately the JC-2 are out of budget and nearly never turns up on the used market here. I used to own a P5 with a different power amp a while back and think it was good considering the price, didn't care for the on-board DAC or the Riaa-stage in the P5 since the separate ones I have was better. I have read about Schiit Freya that seems nice, I have considered going with a tube-pre. So if someone here that also like the A21 and heard or own something they like please let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsa Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 Sorry.. Missed some important stuff... Budget: about the same as a new Parasound P5, don't mined to buy second hand. What I miss most right now with existing Pre: the soundstage isn't as wide as I like, two pairs of Pre-out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I would love to hear the parasound with either a tube preamp or a full passive like the Khozmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsa Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 (edited) Never listened to a passive pre but the Khozmo looks nice! To me it looks very similar to Hattor audio? www.hattor.com Maybe together with a active tube stage/buffer? Edited December 23, 2017 by Mattsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 On 12/23/2017 at 8:14 AM, Mattsa said: Hi Would like to see if anyone here could give me a few extra ideas for a suitable preamp? At the moment I have a Musical Fidelity A3.2cr as preamp. The A3.2cr is nice, never sounds harsh and are built like a tank but it only have one pair of Pre-out and something tells me that there might be a better match than Parasound and Musical Fidelity? You already have a high end outstanding preamp. I have an A3.24 cd pre, an A308CR preamp, power amp and CD Player, and had a KWP Preamp in the past. I hate to use the term, but "tube sound" from a SS device. Do not get rid of the musical fidelity gear. You will regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsa Posted December 24, 2017 Author Share Posted December 24, 2017 1 hour ago, tigerwoodKhorns said: Do not get rid of the musical fidelity gear. You will regret it. Thanks for your reply , yeah I like the MF and the way it's built, especially considering what I paid for it. Just a shame they only include one pair of Pre-outs, would be nice with two wich make it easier for the subwoofers. Just been curious what others matches Parasound with. Also it always nice to get feedback from others to get some more information before money are spent I will also work some more on speaker placement during the holidays to try to improve the widht of soundstage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 You can add a set of phono jacks to the back and solder them to the existing ones. I did that to an A308cr that I had previously. Very easy to do, you just need to be brave enough to drill holes in the back of the preamp. I now have the A308 power amp which has preamp outs that I use for the sub. https://www.parts-express.com/parts-express-gold-rca-jack-solder-type-w-nut-pair-hex-type--091-1204 The easiest thing is to just buy some "Y" cables and attach to the preamp output. https://www.parts-express.com/rca-y-adapter-2-female-to-1-male--240-127 the MF gear is really good and you will be hard pressed to do better. I like the A308 as much as the KWP and the KWP preamp was a $12,000 reference preamp (with a silly huge aluminum remote the size of a brick). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsa Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 3 hours ago, tigerwoodKhorns said: You can add a set of phono jacks to the back and solder them to the existing ones. I did that to an A308cr that I had previously. Very easy to do, you just need to be brave enough to drill holes in the back of the preamp. I now have the A308 power amp which has preamp outs that I use for the sub. At the moment I use rca "splitters" but the best thing are to add extra terminals as you suggested, I have already had a look inside the preamp and it's not a big/difficult job :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 26, 2017 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Adding RCA Jacks is about as easy as it gets, but I do have to admit that when you drill that first hole it is a little nerve wrecking. Make sure they are spaced exactly as you wish so the end result looks professional. I used some Mogami mic wire that I used to make RCA cables for the jumper wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 I just found this. The A3.2CR power amp has the preamp out loop for a subwoofer. The RCAs are easy to add though. http://www.ukaudiomart.com/details/649337701-musical-fidelity-a32cr-dual-mono-preamppower-amp/images/1471717/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsa Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 10 hours ago, tigerwoodKhorns said: I just found this. The A3.2CR power amp has the preamp out loop for a subwoofer. Thanks for sharing that info But as you say for me it's easier to add the extra rca terminals 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 Are you "handy"? Can you solder to save some Krona? http://www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm#SP9 https://www.akitika.com/PR101.html# 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsa Posted December 29, 2017 Author Share Posted December 29, 2017 23 hours ago, JohnA said: Are you "handy"? Can you solder to save some Krona? http://www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm#SP9 https://www.akitika.com/PR101.html# I don't think I 'm that good at soldering so I can build a complete preamp Have you tried any of those pre-amps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 No, I am considering building one. Both are available assembled and tested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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