Hi. Has anyone used the Nad Phono Preamplifier with the Nad C320BEE? What's the sound quality? Do u think its better or worse than other small amplifiers with built in phono stage (e.g. Rotel Ra-02)?
The NAD is a decent, if beatable, product for the money. Right now the hot budget phono pre amp is the Bellari for around $200-250. Put it in a search engine for more information.
The thread is pretty old and the OP has most likely bought something and not checking any more, but for what its worth...
I've got the PP2/320BEE combo. It's a pretty good combo. Definately not amazing, but good none the less. The PP2 has been described as non-dynamic, boring and uninvolving by its critics. They're partially right. I've heard far better, but for the money it's very acceptable. The Pro-Ject Phono Box, which is probably it's main competition and equal price, is pretty dynamic and more extended. But I think it tries to go too far. People have said it ragged around the edges, and I agree. I think it pushes it a little too far.
While the Bellari has gotten rave reviews from publications, I've heard a lot of negative comments from users. I haven't heard it personally, but was considering auditioning/buying it.
I've heard the company makes cheap and bad mic tube amps and other band equipment, not that that means this product is bad. I've also heard that they're noisy and have some reliability/consistancy issues. Tube quality is inconsistant, and some people have gone through a couple units before they got one that worked properly. I've heard a professional reviewer say (in a forum, not in a published review) that 'Just because it has a tube in it doesn't mean it sounds good.' He didn't say anything else. Many of the people with negative comments say it sounded ok when it worked right.
Speaking of tube phono pre-amps, anyone have any experience with Bottlehead? I'm looking into the Bottlehead Seduction. I've never soldered nor put together electronics before, but that's ok. My father is a mechanic and electrical genius. He like doing stuff like that and has some free time on his hands. He'll be willing if asked.
Jan -
I got the Bottlehead idea from you. You've linked to them a couple times in the past. Any personal experience with them and/or the Seduction?
No, they've been around for some time and have been a favorite of the DIY crowd who have done modifications on the products. Over the years many of these mods have been incorporated into the Bottlehead designs. They have seemed to be a reasonable product to use as a starting point for many people. My opinion is you will learn more about audio by asssembling your own gear, even if it is just soldering together some pre-assembled boards, than you will by simply plugging cables together. The Bottlehead designs would appear to be well known to the extent they can be sold without significant loss should they not suit your tastes.
I would obviously agree that tubes are not a salvation for a badly put together component or system. If you've read some of my posts on the topic, I strongly object to the idea of "tube sound" and think this has been used as a Band-Aid approach to many systems.
"If you've read some of my posts on the topic, I strongly object to the idea of "tube sound" and think this has been used as a Band-Aid approach to many systems."
I couldn't agree more. Its along the same lines as people suggesting pairing a 'warm amp' with 'bright speakers' or a 'forward amp' with 'laid back' speakers to balance things out. While it may make perfect sense on paper, it doesn't always work that way. I've heard a few too many systems that tried this approach and got the worst of both worlds instead of a happy medium. A couple of people here who shall remain nameless suggest these things all the time. I've voiced my opinion once or twice, but it always fell to deaf ears (no pun intended).
Anyhow... Thanks for the info on the Bottlehead gear. I've looked around the second hand market in the past to see how well they retained their value if it didn't work out. My intent was to use it as a beginer's guide to tubes and to see if they were for me. I wasn't planning to acheive unrealistic stunning results from my humble system. To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm looking for. I plan on buying a Naim Nait 5i (the strongest candidate at this point) soon, followed by a Naim CD5i and speakers down the road. I don't know what'll synergize best with the Nait. I'd imagine Naim's phonostage would, but it's pretty expensive alone, and add to that it requires a seperate power supply, and it'll be about $600 at the cheapest. My main priority is vinyl, so the digital stuff can wait until I get around to it so to speak.
I'm also going to audition the Rega integrateds and Apollo before committing. The local dealer carries both. I've been told the Regas have a very good built in phono section. If I go this route, I may invest in the Bottlehead with the savings fromk the Naim system to give me an occasional change of pace if the mood strikes me and they sound good together.
Sorry for the confusion and thanks for pointing it out Nuck.
"I've looked around the second hand market in the past to see how well they retained their value if it didn't work out."
What I meant was I looked into how much they were being sold for second hand, just in case I didn't like the way it sounded for my music, in my room, etc. I couldn't in good conscience sell something I messed up and couldn't fix without explicitly stating it.
I've heard some gear that many people love and it did nothing for me. I've heard gear that a lot of people don't like that I really liked. The only real way to hear it is to build one myself. If I like the way it sounds, I'll keep it. If not, I'll sell it and say it wasn't my cup of tea.
Silly question. I reality, what is the diff between the bottlehead phono pre and the bottlehead line stage? will the line stage not work as a phono pre?
Yes Dan. This is true of any line stage pre-amp. A line stage pre-amp doesn't have the RIAA equalization nor the level boost needed to play a phono signal sufficiently. A phono pre-amp does this, and cannot correctly pass a line level signal, which is just about everything other than a phono signal.
Also, never plug anything other than a turntable into a phono input. It'll ruin it.
My idiot room mate in grad school connected his ipod to the phono input in my old NAD 304 for a few hours. He didn't think it sounded bad. Talk about being deaf. The input was never the same after that.
