Guy Landau Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 The Blueberry and any other of these fruits won't work with the very low output Klyde cartridge. Actually, there aren't many preamps that would so you might need an extra head amp or a moving coil, step up transformer to boost the phono signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 I mentioned getting a tube unit since I think it will flesh out a bit the sound of the heresies. assuming you want a new unit (I would recommend used but that is another story) I think you would find that the wright-sound wpl10V preamp would sound great, is built great and costs $900, wright products are highly regarded. other new preamps I could recommend for under $1,000 would be antique sound labs MG Phono DT or AQ 2002 DT. the dared preamp (the 2000a?) is a screaming bargain at $250 and can be matched with a stand alone phono preamp (the project phono box $120, or many others under $250 visit www.needledoctor.com) used for less than $1,000 opens the possiblities a bit more, units from VAC, VTL, Conrad-Johnson, rogue, jolida and even cary preamps are available at that price level. Conrad-Johnson would be a fave of mine for that pricing, PV-10, 11 or 12 would sound great! warm regards, tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 ---------------- On 8/17/2004 9:53:39 AM NOSValves wrote: ---------------- On 8/17/2004 6:04:50 AM v3pcbl wrote: jt1stcav, That BEZ item pictured is $250 new? Or was that $2500? Good lord, its looks alone are worth that... ---------------- One look inside and that opinion would change fast ---------------- Ha ha, Craig! It's $250 new, and Dean's right, it could stand to have better parts inside. If you're into mods, then the affordable BEZ gear would make great candidates for cap and trannie upgrades IMO. Good luck in your preamp search, Christie-Marie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 $250 for the BEZ is amazingly good. Jim: Whenever convenient for you to do so, would you mind posting a picture of the interior? I remember seeing something I thought was from the same designer/builder on ebay with wiring that was absolutely beautifully done. It's obvious for $250 one might not get the most expensive parts available, but in my experience have not been convinced that the most expensive parts available always equate with a comparable jump in performance. A good circuit design can often get by very well on parts of average cost, however the BEZ shown above, in my opinion, looks like it should cost more in the range of $2,500. Jim: If in inside shot is a hassle, don't worry about it! I've just tried to find some of this maker's work on ebay, but can't. What should I search under? Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=zagger1&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Thanks for that link! Without a doubt this is what I had been looking at and simply could not believe the cost for what looks to be extremely well-done construction and wiring. I haven't heard any of these components, which of course is the most important thing. I just haven't seen anything that looked this good sell for such an uncommonly low and extremely fair price! Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 You know when I quoted the guy about the BEZ I must of been in space land I thought he was talking about the Dared preamp. I think the BEZ is a pretty good value if you don't mind the wait. Sorry for the confusion I have to learn to read more carefully. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie-Marie Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 When I said I want an analog preamp I meant to say a tube preamp and I thought that was a given. I'd much prefer a preamp with built-in phono stage that can handle low-output moving coil all in a single box. I don't need tone controls or anything fancy. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 I do NOT know your amplifier or your cartridge, but I do know this useful review: A Patchel of Passive Pre-Amplifiers, by Herb Reichert, similar to a Listener article: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0102/preamplifiers.htm Something more to think about anyway. 2. With the harshness of an old Sony CD player (2 times oversampling!), I jumped on an Dynaco PAS 3, series II, tube pre-amplifier by Panor Corp. It was $500 used, with manual and box, almost 20 years ago. This had many features I wanted: tubes, black face, EQ inputs and outputs, dual pre-amplifier outputs, audio and video inputs, tape dubbing, phono and a revered name in tube loving circles. AFTER I bought it, I read many good reviews about it from horn lovers at Audio Asylum. I loved it and the different difference it made. One of the tubes eventually went bad, and so I replaced them all (after asking the posters for their personal opinions about tubes). It is NOT dead silent with my classic Klipsch corner Khorns. It has NOT kept its value either. I think you can find them on eBay for $125. It may need refurbishing by someone like frequent Klipsch poster NOSvalves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 I can recommend this Conrad Johnson preamp http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1097779936 combined with this MC step-up transformer http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48649&item=5715440398&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVWf or added phono signal boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Erik, you've been PM'd. Christie-Marie, I assume you don't want to use an external phono preamp for your 'table? I thought you were already...In any event, the above tube preamps with phono sections already included are all worthy of investigation. I was always under the assumption that the majority of integrated phono stages built into preamps were not always desirable, that external stand-alone phono preamp units (either tube or solid-state) were usually of better quality sonically. Not always, though, but most of the time. Just my opinion, natch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v3spitfire Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Definately thanks for the link. I didn't even think a new $300 preamp existed, let alone a tube pre that appears to be of good quality (based on your opinions - I can read nothing into the wires...). People spend that on a painting at a dept store, this would be better decoration and sound better too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 If you are looking at the BEZ, take a look at Dean's comments about this amp at higher volumes. It's very good value for the money, but there are limitations. Maybe someone like Craig or Erik could figure out a way to beef this puppy up a bit for a small investment in parts and labour. Just remember to read all of the comments two or three times when you are looking at a piece of equipment, making note of what it does well and where it could use improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Quite true, Dflip. It's the reason why I chose to take a chance on the BEZ components. But it's also true that you get what you pay for, and eventhough I'm quite happy with my BEZ SET amp and SRPP preamp (I don't regret purchasing them at all), I'm positive they could use a good parts upgrade/mods to sound their best! The circuitry is well established and time-proven (I assume...I'm no techie), so upgrades would definately be a wise choice. Probably not a good first choice as a preamp for Christie-Marie, who most likely wouldn't be interested in future mods...just something well designed right out of the box to play and enjoy her piano LPs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 I'm a complete novice when it comes to preamplifier and amplifier circuits, so take this with a block of salt -- but from what I've read about this stuff, I think it actually might be his exclusive use of metal oxide resistors. If I were going to mod the thing, I would start with the volume control, and replace all of those red firecrackers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 There are a sh!tload of 'em, aren't there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Really, I must be out of my freaking mind. Just buy another stepped attenuator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Those resistors really look like metal film rather than metal oxide. The Transcendent stepped atttenuator I recently built also used metal films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiob Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 ---------------- On 8/17/2004 1:15:24 PM Daddy Dee wrote: Mark had a Blueberry demo on Ebay, and I missed out on the auction. But it went for a song. ---------------- No, it was went for $1000.00, not a song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ddpreatran&1097974593 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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