PreAmp/Power Amp Combo Recommendation

[Julioale]

I am looking for a recommendation for a preamp/power amp combo. My speakers are the psb x2t, according to the recommendation of a factory technician I must have at least 150w on the amp. The budget is < $2500. The main source are phono with a external preamp and bluesound node.

Thanks for the help,

JC

 

[staticV3]

Please take a look at this great spreadsheet curated by ASR member @Matias :

Amplifier SINAD list ASR + 3rd parties

List Name,THD+N (5W, 4 ohms),SINAD (dB) (5W, 4 ohms),Power (W) (1% THD+N, 4 ohms),Price (USD),Source Topping LA90 (stereo, bypass, low gain),0.00009%,121,90,800,<a href="https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-la90/">L7 Audio Lab</a>,Suggestions, corrections and more info here: Topping LA90 Discre...

docs.google.com

 

[Gary_G]

I am enjoying my Parasound A23+ and P6 combo. $1,800 and $1,600 respectively so sorta out of the budget. Paired with Focal Aria 926 speakers and already hearing things on CD's I've not heard. I'm looking forward to adding the Bluesound Node later this year to stream Amazon Music HD

 

[Julioale]

Please take a look at this great spreadsheet curated by ASR member @Matias :

Amplifier SINAD list ASR + 3rd parties

List Name,THD+N (5W, 4 ohms),SINAD (dB) (5W, 4 ohms),Power (W) (1% THD+N, 4 ohms),Price (USD),Source Topping LA90 (stereo, bypass, low gain),0.00009%,121,90,800,<a href="https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-la90/">L7 Audio Lab</a>,Suggestions, corrections and more info here: Topping LA90 Discre...

docs.google.com

thanks

 

[dlaloum]

New, or Used?
Vintage or Recent?
With onboard DAC, and DSP Room/Speaker EQ processing, or a straight stereo preamp?
With or without onboard phono stage?

The great thing about Pre/Power combos, is that you can mix and match - choose the amp to best match your speakers, choose the pre to best match your inputs and processing needs.

AVR's and AV prepro's can make excellent pre's - especially if you want Room/Speaker EQ - cheapest way to achieve it for stereo! You get bonus channels that you can opt to ignore, many AVR's/AVPrepro's also allow you to use the additional channels for BiAmping, and the crossover processing is done in the onboard DSP.

In the world of old school stereo pre's I have always loved the Quad 34 /44 preamps with their "Tilt" control - in original form, not the most transparent (although no slouch by any means) - but they get a serious step up in some of the more recent refurbishings.

 

[Julioale]

New, or Used?
Vintage or Recent?
With onboard DAC, and DSP Room/Speaker EQ processing, or a straight stereo preamp?
With or without onboard phono stage?

The great thing about Pre/Power combos, is that you can mix and match - choose the amp to best match your speakers, choose the pre to best match your inputs and processing needs.

AVR's and AV prepro's can make excellent pre's - especially if you want Room/Speaker EQ - cheapest way to achieve it for stereo! You get bonus channels that you can opt to ignore, many AVR's/AVPrepro's also allow you to use the additional channels for BiAmping, and the crossover processing is done in the onboard DSP.

In the world of old school stereo pre's I have always loved the Quad 34 /44 preamps with their "Tilt" control - in original form, not the most transparent (although no slouch by any means) - but they get a serious step up in some of the more recent refurbishings.

New, Recent, I have an external phono preamp.