I am considering replacing my Sony TA-E1000ESD Pre Amp by a NAD 162 or the Rotel RC-1082. The Sony (actually a Preproces unit for home cinema) is awfull to operate. I also noticed that a Quad 33 preamp sounds a lot better, but they are really outdated. I use two quad 405-2 power amps.
Because I've owned both NAD and Rotel and prefer the Rotel sound and build quality. That being said, you have to me more careful which speakers you pair with Rotel than with NAD.
SHN, when delving into preamps and mono amps, the question must be asked. Why do you need tone controls? Putting more in the signal path is almost never a good thing, and gains in less than stellar gear are not usually simple or effective in a signal/noise perspective.
Using gains and defeats (in any manner) are destructive to a true signal, and are biased to the manufacturers liking, such as in a Rotel pre, with a selectable gain/defeat of +- 3 or 6 db. I don't trust other people interpolation of the gear that I might add, period.
I suggest that you rethink your need for tonals, decide across a wide selection of music where you end up using tonals, and accommodate your desires with room treatments, and if need be, some different pieces of equipment.
I noticed that for most good recordings my tone control settings are more or less neutral, and in some cases I add litlle more bass or treble (not much, a bad recording will always be a bad recording). So what I want is a tone control that can be bypassed if I want to, and that bypassed and neutral setting sound the same.
Don't forget that right now I have a preamp (Sony TA-E1000 ESD) that ALWAYS do a A/D and a subsequent D/A conversion, no way to bypass this. The tone control is a digital parametric equallizer (brrrrrrrr).
With simple tone control I mean simple in usage, not technically. I know that design of a quality tone control is not at all trivial.
The choice turned out to be the Rotel. Sound is great. It is nicely build. Very simple in usage. The tone control is very subtile. In flat position, there is no difference with bypassed mode. Thanks for advice!
Hey Nuck I know what you mean, you are absolutely right. However, I must keep balance between the truth of replaying and enjoying music the way I like. That means, when I miss a LITTLE clearity or a LITTLE body in the bass, I'ed like to adjust that.