[JJ15k]

Hello,
I currently have an integrated tube amp and I was thinking about upgrading (who doesn t?

). One thing I d like to know about is what advantage would monoblocks have compared to integrated amps (I have a preamp now so I don t need the volume control). I guess removing one volume pot is the main one?
Also, my preamp is passive, what should I be aware of when getting a new amp?
So, mosts amps recommended here are integrated and I was wondering if I could get good suggestions on monoblocks. I might favor 845 or 300B because I already have some tubes but I don t mind others. The amp would be mostly used with a K1000 (so at least 8-10W power).
Thanks

 

[hugz]

Hi

Seperate pre and power section is able to provide better sound simply because there is more room. rather than trying to cram in a pre amp and 2 power channels in one amp, having monoblocks will keep them in 3 different chassis. Another advantage of not using integrated is it provides more options for upgrading or changing your system, as you can experiment with different pres.

Since you're "Team Chinese Hi-Fi", you should check out Ming Da MC845-C (20 watt), or Ming Da MC300-D (8 watt)

 

[JJ15k]

bump?

 

[Uncle Erik]

They eliminate possible crosstalk between the channels and have more stable power supplies.

Best of all, however, is that monoblocks lend themselves to balanced headphone operation. That's a very good thing.

 

[JJ15k]

Balanced means that we would use differential amplification, simply separating the grounds doesn t really count as balanced.
Any thought on the passive preamp thing?

 

[rodentmacbeastie]

They are not tubes, but try out a set of Nuforce amps. I have heard of guys using thes with great success to drive Stax and so on. They also have a 50w/ch integrated that can be used as a stereo amp passing the preamp or you never know, you may fall in love with the whole unit?

 

[hugz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik They eliminate possible crosstalk between the channels and have more stable power supplies. Best of all, however, is that monoblocks lend themselves to balanced headphone operation. That's a very good thing.

Dont you effectively need two stereo amps for balacing, as opposed to monoblocks which are two mono amps?

Anyway yeah, monoblocks stops any interference between channels. for tubes it usually means there's an extra transformer (power transformer, i think).. so shared parts get doubled up on instead of being shared. I dunno if that makes a difference though

Today I heard an integrated amp which sounded really nice, but then plugging in a dedicated premp to the pre-in improved the sound vastly. I'm not sure why it's like that, but having seperate components tends to mean that each individual component is of higher quality

 

[JJ15k]

In my understanding, a balanced amp does not need to be stereo, I think there is a thread in the forum at the moment

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ15k In my understanding, a balanced amp does not need to be stereo, I think there is a thread in the forum at the moment

Yes, balanced is effectively two stereo amps running side-by-side, where each stereo amp is used to actively drive a signal to both the '+' and '-" lead for each ear (or each earpiece/speaker).

Two stereo amps are required, because -- with balanced operation -- the signal is inverted for the negative lead. So you can think of balanced as actively driving 'equal but opposite signals' to each ear (or speaker).

What do you mean by a passive preamp?

IMO you should look for the best SQ for a given budget, and not get too hung up on technology or form-factor.

 

[JJ15k]

I totally agree with the sq comment, i m not looking for balanced or anything.
By passive preamp I mean the the preamp isnt an "amp" just an attenuator to get volume control

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ15k I totally agree with the sq comment, i m not looking for balanced or anything. By passive preamp I mean the the preamp isnt an "amp" just an attenuator to get volume control

Also called a linestage?

 

[JJ15k]

Honestly I don t know, something that allows you to switch inputs, control volume.. My unit is the presonus central station :http://www.presonus.com/centralstation.html (it has some more features)

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ15k Honestly I don t know, something that allows you to switch inputs, control volume.. My unit is the presonus central station :http://www.presonus.com/centralstation.html (it has some more features)

Some vendors (like Audio Research, I believe), classify preamps as having a phone stage (with RIAA equalization), and linestage as what you put between a source (like a CDP) and an amp.

I'm pretty sure that a typical linestage does boost signal strength, so don't know how this would match up with power amps.

You might want to approach a few amp vendors and ask them if you have enough gain to drive their amps from your desired source(s), with no additional gain???

Good luck.

 

[JJ15k]

I don t listen very loud, There is no reason the gain shouldn t be enough for them with the usual 2V source. Anyway thank you for your advice.
Btw is it just me or are monoblocks really more expensive than integrated amps?

 

[tkam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ15k Btw is it just me or are monoblocks really more expensive than integrated amps?

That shouldn't surprise you much really, monoblocks in general are made to be the top of the product line for many amplifier companies. What is your budget?