DoubleJ Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 I have narrowed down my Pre-Amp choices to one of these three. Was ready to pull the trigger on a Merlin until I saw that Mark has a Peach Refurb for $995 and a fellow forum member has a Blueberry for sale for $1,000. I'm on a tight budget, so a full priced Peach or Blueberry is out of the question. With all these great deals available, I'm totally clueless on which way to go. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!! Also, I want to thank GaryMD and Guy Landau for keeping an eye out for a pre-amps for me. Backgroud: -Don't listen to LP's, but who knows, that may change. -Will be hooking the Preamp to either a ST-70 or the cheap little Teac 700 -Only need a couple of inputs..But more would be nice JJ P.S. Does the original Peach have the HT pass-through function? This may prove useful for my system does pull double duty: HT and 2 channel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazytubepower Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Well You don't need the blueberry, so pick your budjet 600 or 1000. I will be geting a merlin soon so I will let you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 You're quite welcome although I'm not sure I really did much, if anthing. If you have ANY real thoughts of getting into vinyl, get the BB. If not and you have the extra bread, I'd go with the Peach. I've never heard a Merlin and I'm sure it sounds great but the Peach just has more meat to it (or more juice if you will). Just look at the tube compliment. Good luck. You really can't go wrong with any of those choices! Edit: I do believe the Peach has the pass-through but the Merlin does not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 If you are not going to be realistically getting into vinyl, go for the Peach. It has the HT bypass, and the Merlin does not. I cannot tell you the sonic differences since I have yet to hear a Merlin, but I can definitely vouch for the Peach. The HT bypass is invaluable for me since the system pulls both 2 channel and HT duty (with my mains doing both). Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Well I'd suggest you answer your own all important question before taking the decision any further. To Vinyl or not to Vinyl. If you choose to Vinyl then the decision is over. If your are not going to go with vinyl then I'd go Peach all the way if the bucks are available. I've learned that when you cut yourself short you end up constantly having this little tweety board whispering in your ear "what if you bought the _____" Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Mark one thing I am not clear on is how the ht bypass works. Not technically but from a users perspective. Does the peach do anything (ie volume control) or just bypass the two channels to another preamp or processor? just something Ive been wondering about wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleJ Posted August 13, 2005 Author Share Posted August 13, 2005 Thank you all for your input.. The decision has been made.... I'm buying the Peach. The HT Bypass was the clincher (Thanks Carl for your input regarding this). I think this feature far out weighs the "maybe in the future" venture to vinyl. JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 ---------------- On 8/13/2005 9:59:10 PM NOSValves wrote: Well I'd suggest you answer your own all important question before taking the decision any further. To Vinyl or not to Vinyl. If you choose to Vinyl then the decision is over. If your are not going to go with vinyl then I'd go Peach all the way if the bucks are available. I've learned that when you cut yourself short you end up constantly having this little tweety board whispering in your ear "what if you bought the _____" Craig ---------------- What's a tweety board? Back on topic. If you can swing it financially you can't go wrong with either the Peach or the BB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 DoubleJ, Mark Deneen has some very nice NOS Philips 6922 tubes. If one of these is not already (in the V1 position) in the Peach you are ordering, (if still available) you can purchase for a very reasonable cost. This is the best sounding tube I've had in my Peach. One of these would be all you need for listening in the standard "Blueberry" mode. The super LoZ mode (handy for really long cable runs) requires more, but I don't use that regularly in my setup. Congrats. You are going to LOVE the sound of your system with the Peach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Now to tell the wife a tube pre is "required" equipment with a new TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 ---------------- On 8/13/2005 10:46:39 PM Piranha wrote: ---------------- On 8/13/2005 9:59:10 PM NOSValves wrote: Well I'd suggest you answer your own all important question before taking the decision any further. To Vinyl or not to Vinyl. If you choose to Vinyl then the decision is over. If your are not going to go with vinyl then I'd go Peach all the way if the bucks are available. I've learned that when you cut yourself short you end up constantly having this little tweety board whispering in your ear "what if you bought the _____" Craig ---------------- What's a tweety board? Back on topic. If you can swing it financially I would highly recommend the BB. ---------------- LOL hell if I know! Where did I come up with board out of bird....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 You buy the Peach, used or new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.