Kyle
You can put Rothwell attenuators between the preamp and amp and cut the gain. That will get the hiss below audible levels with no degradation.
Or just use the attenuator on the dac! It doesn’t help!
I’ll give that a shot.
No entirely different as you are reducing the gain of the preamp alone. I’ve used both the SE and XLR versions for years with different “difficult” gear matches.
I just put a 10dB attenuators on the input to my amps. Definitely helped with the hiss, but, seems to have a negative effect on SQ. Could be my imagination.
4 posts were merged into an existing topic: Various experience with various products
Add my BHK preamp to the dead quiet and awesome sounding group. Stock tubes. Plugged into a Dectet. Speakers are 97db Tekton’s. Life is good.
I had a Calypso signature for a couple years and really enjoyed it, I got the itch for a change and considered the upgrade to an Eclipse (5K factory upgrade) but to be honest I missed the “feel” of a high quality rotary volume control. The Aesthetix volume control is innovative and works very well but for $8.5k (signature + Eclipse upgrade) the little things become more important.
I went with an Allnic L-1500 as a " bridge" to my end game Linestage $3,200 for a mint dealer demo, so far I am really liking it, wonderful volume control, very good build quality, very wide, deep stage. The L-1500 is their entry level pre.
My father just received and installed an Ayre K5 Twenty (he is a 1000% SS guy) while I haven’t yet heard it he says it is the last preamp he will buy.
Good luck with the Janus, I think you will love it! They can be sensitive to tube selection and carful when removing the cover as you can easily scrape/scratch the housing which reduces resale.
Not looking to change the subject of this thread. But can anyone tell me what real advantage a speaker has being so high in efficiency? IMO 89-91 DB is ideal overall.
Drivability for flea-watt tube amps?
I think that more sensitivity allows for more dynamic range with a lower power requirement. I also think it is a byproduct of the drivers chosen for the speaker design and not very adjustable. I am not a speaker expert by any means.
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What do you mean by 89-91db is ideal. What is the benefit of that range and what do you give up above or below it?
High sensitivity drivers, 94dB/1M and above, require less power to drive, and are faster than lower efficiency drivers if all else is equal. Aside from playing louder with less power, the driver physically moves faster and if you are going with a full-range speaker system with a single driver, this greater efficiency is a desirable attribute.
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Great comments. Higher sensitivity also allows a class AB amplifier to operate in its class A mode further before switching. Given similar type of speaker driver(dynamic cone) I find thru listening that a high efficiency driver/speaker more revealing with greater tone and texture compared to a less efficient speaker. However as technology changes(ie.Planar, electrostats) then the trade off of less efficiency becomes less a problem(although it introduces other aspects).
My Dad has very efficient speakers(Tannoy Westminister Royal GR’s) and he regularly bounces the meters around 0.5 watts on his ARC REF 250 SE’s, where I require massive current/watts to push the 20.7’s.
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So if I don’t want to deal with the tube annoyances and hiss associated with the BHK Pre, what other preamps in the same price range would you recommend?
Almost all solid state amps should be hiss free, so if it really annoys you I would look at what your local dealer (assuming you have one) has and take a listen for yourself. The ideal thing would be if they could lend you one to try in your own system. Some of the really good dealers in the past used to do this. One mail order dealer I knew used to do this if you were willing to place deposit for the equipment. I think this works best because no matter how something sounds at the hifi store you will only really know how it sounds in yours system when you get it home. Personally I like Naim stuff - their NAC 282 might be in the right price range but it all depends on if you like the Naim sound.
Hmmm, I’m glad yours works that way! Paul told me that it is normal to hear the hiss from the BHK pre with sensitive speakers. I wonder why our experience is so different?
The hiss on my system comes from the preamp, not the amps. If I run direct from the dac, hiss is gone.
Not sure what you mean, I was referring to using a solid state preamp.
Not sure but its quiet. I suppose if I turned the volume all the way up with nothing playing I may be able to hear something if I put my ear right next to the speaker but I have no reason to do that. Using normal listening levels there is no noise between tracks. I keep the DAC between 80 and 100 on the dial and the BHK preamp at 30-35 is pretty loud with the DAC at 80.
With my LCD-4’s I run the preamp between 45 and 70 depending on the track and there is no noise between tracks then either.