Just bought my first ever 2 ch pre-amp!

If you followed my ICE amp thread, you may have noticed I have been upgrading some things in my system lately.

The current setup is now my front 3 sierras and 170's for surrounds.

Equipment,
Yamaha Rx-V2600 receiver
Proceed Amp3 3 ch amp
Oppo DVD player
Xbox 360 for streaming music

The new pre-amp will be a parasound Halo P3. I have always wanted to improve my 2ch performance and was told a dedicated pre-amp will make the most difference, obviously without upgrading my sierras. I am still thinking about snagging a used proceed "pre" for comparison, if I find a decent deal on one.

Anyway, I will incorporate this into my surround system with some rigging & screwing around with using both the balanced & unbalanced inputs of the proceed amp. It may not be ideal, but i can get it to work just fine.

I will run the analog outs from my xbox and oppo into the p3 for sources.

Does anyone have any experience from using a mid level receiver going to a dedicated 2ch pre-amp with some ascends?

I will keep you all posted as to the results when it arrives!

Later,

Brandon

What is the analog performance of the Oppo or PS3 suppose to be like?

The oppo has pretty decent analog performance for the price it costs. As for the PS3 & 360, they both get good reviews, not high end by any means but not bad either. I stream quite a few WMA lossless files across the 360, therefore avoiding any compression.

I have to imagine the new pre-amp will easily trump the yamaha in terms of 2 ch performance.

What are your thoughts on going this route curtis?

Later,
Brandon

I am wondering if the "decent" performance with an analog connection to the pre-amp will actually be better than a digital connection to the Yamaha.

In other words, are the DACs in the players better than the DACs in the Yamaha?

I have thought about getting a pre/pro with an HT bypass, but if I went that route, I would want to get an external DAC. I also would have to think about sub integration.

I hear ya. The p3 does not have a way to integrate my sub, which is fine for me. As for which unit has better DAC's, I guess only time will tell. I figured the receiver focuses on so many different tasks and a dedicated pre only has one thing to do and its built for that purpose.

If I dont like it or theres no noticeable benefit I can sell it again.

With a seperate DAC, you run a digital connection out of the CDP(transport) to the unit then analog outs to the preamp correct? This then allows the DAC to handle all the conversions I think.
Hmm....someday maybe.

Later,
B

Please post your impressions of the Parasound preamp when you get around to it. Looking forward to reading it.

I will post my impressions after it arrives on Thursday.

Excellent pre-amp. I have had it for about three years now with no complaints. The front face does scratch easily so use care.

I use a Monarchy Dac for use with my Yamaha music server (horrible DAC). If needed e-bay can be a good used source. With the Monarchy the server presents convenience and quality. You will need to judge your source units quality but my NAD DVD-Audio player sounds perfect via analog connections.

BTW the P-3 has a good quality Phono Pre-amp but no sub-out so y-connectors on the power out was my best solution although the Kappa 400 speakers really do not need a sub for music.

BOLTS,

Glad to hear I picked a decent pre-amp:D
You also run your setup with sierras just as I do......good to know!

Do you feel the pre-amp is a decent step up over a mid level receiver in terms of 2ch listening? As for the seperate DAC debate, I am going to wait and see. I just ordered the newer oppo 980 and sold my 970. The 980 has upgraded DAC's for better analog sound. This might help a bit and is far cheaper than adding a seperate DAC.

Can you elaborate on the Y connector & how you managed to intigrate a sub with the the P3?

Thanks man!

Brandon

The speakers are most important, of course but using the direct inputs (there are two) on your best sources keeps the signal as pure as possible. I added both the Parasound and the Bryston at the same time so it is difficult to determine how much improvement is due to each. For me the improvement was most noticeable at moderate to lower sound levels.

Regarding the sub, I use a y cable connector from the pre-amp with one cable connected to the power amplifier and one to the sub.