Have your say & ask the experts

A couple of threads on here have got me curious about a passive pre amp. NVA have an ebay store and offer a 30 day money back guarantee. Theres a couple of pres to choose from and I think I'll take a risk free punt on one. I thought I'd ask here before I do. Any experiences?

The objective of the exercise is to establish whether my 99 cdp2 is doing a good enough job as a pre or if I'd get a better sound separating the source from the pre. Any views on this would be welcome too. Lovely.

You need a regular contributor here called... 'dvdaudio'

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/177696.aspx

Nice one thanks Chebby. I'll read up.

Of course you could buy a Naim Nait 5i

It has a passive pre-amplifier section already built in, and uses a 'Blue Alps' motorised volume potentiometer* and would suit your Proac's nicely

*The control processor is set to 'sleep' when not actually being used for input switching and volume etc.

A recent Quad convertee is unlikely to become a Naim convertee

I'll stick with my 909 for now thanks!

I can't seem to get any really good idea whether a dedicated pre (passive or otherwise) will do a better job than the integrated pre in the 99cdp2. I read one review that says the original 99cdp had a 'noisy' attenuator but another that says the cdp2 fixed this.

Then they probably did fix it.

Do you hear noise?

If you don't need to add anything between source and power amp then keep it as simple as possible the way you have it now.

Adding components when not really needed can only subtract from the signal. 

I can also see on the photo of the CD player's back panel that it has digital inputs to utilise the 24/192 built in DAC so why do you need the Beresford in your signature?

 

 

Whilst I think what Chebby has said is very sensible, a lot of people seem to find that passive preamps remove some dynamics from the sound. Now, I understand that neutrality can be the ultimate quest in hifi, the more experience I gain the more I think this isn't necessarily correct. There's always compromises to be made and sometimes a little colour in the right places is exactly what a system needs to be enjoyable.

I'm very interested to see what you find if you get one. I think the general opinions are that they sound very clean with excellent imaging but with reduced dynamics. Maybe this isn't everyone's opinion.

Good evening, my Lord,

Have you read the Stereophile Review of the 99 CDP-2. Their reviewer thought that the pre-amp was a weak point of the unit. I would be interested in what you think in case of future upgraditis.

Hedgehog 

chebby:

Then they probably did fix it.

Do you hear noise?

If you don't need to add anything between source and power amp then keep it as simple as possible the way you have it now.

Adding components when not really needed can only subtract from the signal. 

I can also see on the photo of the CD player's back panel that it has digital inputs to utilise the 24/192 built in DAC so why do you need the Beresford in your signature?

 

 

The issue is that the better my kit gets the less I have a point of reference. I thought my cambridge set up sounded good until I heard better specced hifi. I'm very happy with my sound but its in my nature to think 'ok - how can I improve that again'... dangerous I know.

By adding a pre I'm thinking it could make things more simple as I'd separate the source and the pre - I guess thats why passive pre appeals to me as its as simple as it gets. So rather than adding components and subtracting from the signal I'm taking a job away from the cdp2. It may make no difference and the only way to really tell is to try. I'm just sharing the thought processes here before making the decision for what they're worth and looking for advice.

And the reference to beresford in my sig are cables, not the dac. Thats been relegated to the bedroom as theres little to choose in SQ between the two.

Hedgehog:

Good evening, my Lord,

Have you read the Stereophile Review of the 99 CDP-2. Their reviewer thought that the pre-amp was a weak point of the unit. I would be interested in what you think in case of future upgraditis.

Hedgehog 

Evenin' Hedgehog - yeah thats the review I read. Its from a couple of years ago so I'm wondering if that was before they remodelled (cdp2)

I should probably try again with my beresford as a pre before shelling out - haven't really spent much time with that configuration, assuming it would be up to the job. I'll let you know how I get on.