Stereo Purchase Advice

that looks gorgeous

I finally went for a dedicated amp just to power the music room speakers, my old receiver has speaker wire running to the living room and also feeds a signal to a wifi streamer that runs two remote powered speakers (kitchen and bedroom/outside)

http://images.equipboard.com/uploads/item/image/35271/hafler-ta-1600-l.jpg?v=1475214950

you do know you need 2 more halfer pieces to make it perfect.

haha yes

dammit my Harmon-Kardon preamp's right output channel died so now my music room has no sound

can anyone recommend a decent-to-good unit that has one volume-controlled output and two other fixed output channels (tape rec out or 2nd output, don't care, they both go to other amps with their own volume controls)

bump

help me out people, it's killing me that I can't crank Husker Du on the good speakers

...maybe one of the units that are designed for "zones" might work but i dunno much on those (and they tend to be $$$)

Are you committed to your main power amp? The Yamaha A-S301 I mentioned upthread has two fixed outputs, but you can't separate the preamp from the power amp like you can with some integrateds so it'd become your main amp.

Or if you find a decent preamp with only one output could you use an RCA splitter? I use them between my pre and power to send the signal to my subwoofer. I'd guess that might be frowned on by audiophiles though.

I'm pretty committed to the Hafler amp, see above. But thanks! I think I just need to poke around locally this weekend.

Why not look for a used version of the preamp you had?

tbh I found it too harsh and trebly and usually had the high cut button on. I don't know tons about how preamps & amps interact. The Hafler is 150 watts, is there an ideal preamp value to feed it? That's the max recommended for the Paradigm Studio 20 V.3 speakers I have.

What do you hook up to your pre-amp? Do you use turntable/tape deck/cd player? Or just digital via computer?

If the former I'd just look for the best used deal with any of these brands if you're on a budget: NAD, Rotel, Emotiva, Outlaw, Marantz, Cambridge, Yamaha. Yes, Yamaha makes some cheap consumer stuff, but their mid-level gear is high quality.

If the latter, if you just play digital files from computer, you could get a DAC/preamp and run directly to the amp. Meier, Schiit, iFi, Chord and many others have options.

Several years ago I was using an old Harman Kardon receiver in my office/listening lair and upgraded to a used NAD C355 integrated amp to drive my Rega R3s. I was so happy with the improved sound that I went with NAD again when I moved from condo to house, and moved my big Wharfedale Opus 3s from living room to office. This time I got NAD C162 Preamp & NAD 272 150W Amp, which I was happy with until amp started giving an intermittent buzz (.5 sec on, 1 sec off) when it would get warm. Turns out some NAD amps don't always have a great lifespan. Some days when the room is cool the buzz doesn't occur, and most of my time is spent on headphones. But when it gets worse, I'll probably sell the pre amp, get rid of the tape deck and cd player I never use, and just plug my headphone pre-amp directly to a Crown XLS1502 Two-channel, 525W. I'd run a balanced cable from my iFi Pro to it.

I looked for something to recommend, but the 3 output requirement seems to limit the field. I usually had to get into the $1K+ regime to get a pre out and 2 tape outs. So I'd start by filtering by price and outputs. I think that will limit the scope and make the decision easier.

thanks all, esp Sufjan, good advice.

to clarify:

most of my inputs (computer w/Dragonfly, CD player, basic turntable, tape deck) run through an old 80's mixer. This runs to a regular receiver, using that I can switch input from (1) mixer to (2) radio to (3) a dedicated high end turntable (MMF5) that runs directly into the tape input and out to a CD recorder. This receiver drives a separate set of speakers in the living room.

An output from that receiver also went to the Harmon Kardon (RIP) and then to the Hafler, powering the music room speakers (the Paradigms). The HK also sent signal to the wifi transmitter, so I guess I only need one preamp output other than the one to the Hafler now that I think about it in more detail.

I really like the Cambridge preamp I have for the MMF5 so I might just go for something of theirs. The best used stereo place in my town closed last year, another went to "appointment only" and all they have is a $300 Carver. I was hoping to buy used & local but may need to go new/online.

If you're open to used, Adcom GFP-565 was well-regarded and fits your original requirements as far as outputs. But if you only need one fixed output, that should give you all sorts of options.

I went ahead and bought a Hafler DH 101 preamp (refurbished, with new capacitors from the kit) since I already have the Hafler TA 1600 amp, hopefully it's a good match! It seemed like the best idea, and it has the two outputs I need.

(used, on eBay, with warranty)

the Adcom looks nice, thanks, but not in my price range at this time.

i recently acquired some ceramic speakers. they have their own specialized amp that takes RCA in.

i need a small preamp that can take in rca from my bluetooth receiver (which has an excellent DAC) and pass it through, but also take optical in from my sony cmt-ex1 CD player (which does not have a good DAC) and switch to analog.

this does not exist, right? a DAC that also passes through rca?

the bluetooth receiver has its own optical out, so alternately i guess i could go with a DAC that can switch between 2 different optical inputs.

any suggestions?

It’s not small (standard stereo component size) but otherwise I think the Emotiva PT-100 has what you’re looking for.

yes, that's exactly what i'm looking for!

unfortunately my budget is < $100

yeah, I looked around and it seems like there's a threshold where the amp makers say "you want analog and digital inputs? ok here is every type of those including bluetooth" and that pushes up the cost. I wonder if a small cheap DAC for the CD player + an old amp with a few line level inputs isn't the way to go under 100$.

yeah that's what i'm thinking, except instead of an old amp, maybe one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/d/Selector-Switch-Boxes/Panlong-Switcher-Composite-Selector-Consoles/B00KXVBB3Q/

paired with this?

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/

can't beat the price ...

Do you know if the "specialized amp" wants line level? I think that DAC is fine, but I worry the source switch won't boost the signal for your "specialized amp" (it's not clear to me that you need it to)

yeah when i say “specialized” i just mean it comes w the speakers, i don’t think there’s much special about it, it’s just a super basic 15W t-amp

it is designed for line level ... we’ll see how it ends up sounding, the whole thing is turning into a real frankenstein’s monster but at least it’s been cheap

that should be fine then. I use that cheap DAC for my tv audio and the sound seems good. Cheap can be good!

i want to get a decent amp with integrated phono that has a smaller physical footprint. it doesn't need to be super-powerful, i've got bookshelf speakers and am in an apartment so i'm not going to be blasting my music. i'm mostly looking at the NAD D3020 v2 and the ps audio sprout, but is there anything else in that vein i should be considering?

I have and enjoy one of these (TEAC CR-H500NT), since discontinued but you may be able to find one used.