Amps and preamps, what to consider

 

bumblebee
Unregistered guest
anyone? pls?
 

Silver Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 276
Registered: Feb-05
NAD C162 pre amp. Versatile, great sounding and cheap.
 

bumblebee
Unregistered guest
thanks arthur. i happen to like NAD sonics and probably would be getting the 162/272 combo should i upgrade my stereo setup.

also, i would like to know what factors should i consider in matching amps and preamps. i've read about gain (didn't quite grasp everything about it), are there anything else i should consider?

TIA.
 

Silver Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 287
Registered: Feb-05
Sound is all you should consider. People get too caught up on specs. I can't hear specs, I can only hear music, and if it sounds good that's what's important to me. If you've been into audio as long as I have you may remember when MacIntosh fell out of favor because Julian Hirsch and his specophiles found that it Mac gear didn't spec out like the early solid state stuff. Boy was he wrong! The NAD 162/272 combo sound great together. I have the C162 with a Hafler 9505 power amp(another amp that hi end critics have either been silent about or must find something in which to critisize). They go together very well indeed.
 

bumblebee
Unregistered guest
is there anyway a preamp can overdrive or underdrive an amp?
 

Gold Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 3558
Registered: May-04


Certainly, though the likelyhood of this happening if you stick with components produced in the last forty years is pretty slim. You want to look at the output voltage of the pre amp and the input voltage of the amp. If the pre amp can put out the amount of voltage the power amp needs to reach full power, there shouldn't be a problem unless one of the sources cannot produce sufficient voltage. Overdriving a power amp is less likely unless the unit has a very low input sensitivity. Overdriving a pre amp is more common if it doesn't care to see the high voltages a typical digital player can output. If you are going to run long interconnect between the pre and power amps, you will want a pre amp with an output impedance of less than 650 Ohms.




 

capww8
Unregistered guest
have a look at anthem... great equipment for the $
 

bumblebee
Unregistered guest
Jan,

Many thanks for the reply. I'd like to know more. I'd want my preamp to get all the juice from the amp. Is there any link you can give me?
 

Gold Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 4470
Registered: May-04


I can't point you to any one source on the internet. I learned this dozens of years ago in theory from "The Audio Engineering Handbook" and in practice from combining different components with varying specifications.

Here's a reference library on the internet which provides plenty of answers to questions you might not even have yet:


http://sound.westhost.com/site-map.htm




 

bumblebee
Unregistered guest
Jan,

Again, many thanks. Great link.
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us