Stereomour with and without preamp

[mpeg2]

A while back, I built a Stereomour - initially hooked it up directly connected to sources (CD player & DAC driven by a Raspberry Pi). Over time, I ended up dusting off a Crown IC150A preamp that I used in the past (and liked) and made it part of the system for reasons that made sense at the time. Tonight, I realized that what I was hearing wasn't quite as "nice" as what I remembered when I first fired up the Stereomour - so I went back to direct connection.

Wow- what a difference. Much more clarity in the sound, much better imaging, much more enjoyment. There's something to be said for keeping things simple and not putting anything more in the signal path than you absolutely need.

If it matters, I'm driving either a pair of Madisound Fostek BK-16 or Klipsch Cornwalls (depending on my mood & the music selection)...

  Rich

 

[Natural Sound]

I'm a big fan of simple signal paths as well. Except for rare exceptions I've never liked introducing solid state components into the signal path of my tube gear. To the best of my knowledge the Crown IC150A uses op amps. Like many people you probably don

 

[earwaxxer]

Hey Rich - Dont mean to upset your paradigm. Try putting the Quickie in the pre-section. I have been back and forth with going sans pre and Q in the circuit. Keep coming back to the Q... Just a thought. Its only $99 to see. 

 

[Grainger49]

I sold the IC150A when it was new.  It was versatile but today would be dated.  Try a Quickie.

 

[mpeg2]

Thanks for the comments. I was actually eyeing the BeePree (for a number of reasons, only some audible) & decided to see how things sounded without a preamp. I agree that the technology used in the Crown is probably the limiting factor here.

I'm a little curious about what a preamp would be doing in my situation. I've got plenty of drive from the CD player into the Stereomour - so I'm guessing that it would involve buffering or better impedance matching or ???

While it would be fun to build, the BeePree is a significant investment. The Quickie sounds like a possible path as an interim step - just wondering if batteries would become a nuisance. Is the 100 hour lifetime a reasonable guesstimate?

  Rich

 

[corndog71]

Replacing the batteries is a minor nuisance.  Plus there are alternatives.  The Quickie is too good and too cheap to not try out.

 

[Doc B]

If you don't need the drive you might consider using a Submissive ahead of the Stereomour instead of a Quickie. Just replace the pot in the Stereomour with a 100K ohm resistor to make it a fixed input. Submissive ahead of the Stereomour-as-power-amp will give you a very high quality attenuator setup without adding any extra gain stages.

 

[adamct]

The Quickie has to be the most fun you can buy at that price. So cheap you can't help but play around with it and experiment. And it sounds damn good. It really transformed one of my headphone amps that needs a pre-amp...

 

[Downhome Upstate]

If you don't need the drive you might consider using a Submissive ahead of the Stereomour instead of a Quickie. Just replace the pot in the Stereomour with a 100K ohm resistor to make it a fixed input. Submissive ahead of the Stereomour-as-power-amp will give you a very high quality attenuator setup without adding any extra gain stages.

Hey Doc,

Are there any other audible benefits to be gained (pun semi-consciously intended?) by putting a preamp, say a Quickie, ahead of the 2A3 Stereomour? 

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Mike

 

[mpeg2]

Doc: I'm a little confused about your suggestion about using the Submissive in front of the Stereomour - I'm not seeing any deficiencies with the volume pot already in the Stereomour - so what would the Submissive add?

I can sort of see what an active device (like the Quickie) can change, but I think I'm missing something about the Submissive.

  Rich

 

[Doc B]

The higher quality resistors in the Submissive have better resolution that the stock carbon film pot. This is why we designed it in the first place, to get the best sounding attenuator we could come up with. Also you get very accurate tracking, i.e., balance between channels throughout the range of adjustment.

 

[Br1ck]

I'm running only my DIY Marantz7 clone phono section in front of my Stereomour. My DAC goes directly to the amp. A kind soul over at AudioKarma showed me the error of my ways when I had a line stage in the loop. Duh, don't need it.Immediate improvement running the amp harder. More than enough to drive my horns to uncomfortably loud levels.

 

[InfernoSTi]

I'm really loving my Submissive in front of my Stereomour....

John

 

[thaddeussmith]

what kind of music/volume do you play with the stereomour/cornwall combo?

 

[mpeg2]

Guessing that the "what kind of music with Stereomour/Cornwall" was aimed at me. Although still experimenting, I seem to be finding that to my ears, using the Cornwalls sounds best for music that is "complex" (this is hard to express) - Hendrix, Led Zep, Various classical forms and so on. The full range Madisound sounds best for vocals, acoustic guitar and the like. Of course, it depends upon mood (and maybe the phase of the moon). The Cornwalls do a good job on the latter, but the full rangers simply do it better (more clarity, better imaging).

As far as volume, moderate to a bit more.


  Rich

 

[Grainger49]

  .  .  .  The Cornwalls do a good job on the latter, but the full rangers simply do it better (more clarity, better imaging).  .  .  . 

I would think this is the result of a single diaphragm producing the sound.  The Klipsch are not aligned, losing some coherence.