[Rins]

Please advise.
If I wanted to add an external amplifier to the TT2 to power the speakers (Harbeth compact 7es-3), would it be better to have integrated or output and use the TT2 as a preamplifier as well?

 

[Kentajalli]

use the TT2 as a preamplifier

 

[jjazzy]

Please advise.
If I wanted to add an external amplifier to the TT2 to power the speakers (Harbeth compact 7es-3), would it be better to have integrated or output and use the TT2 as a preamplifier as well?

Depends totally on the amp, I use a musical fidelity M8XI as amp, that one is so good, you don’t need the preamp of the tt2. With some cheaper amps, the preamp of the tt2 is better than the integrated

 

[Rins]

A good quality power amplifier would savé amplifier would save me some money.

 

[SteveHulk]

A good quality power amplifier would savé amplifier would save me some money.

In your position I'd pick up a really good power amp on the basis that I don't need two preamp stages in the same system.

That's always provided that you don't have a wide variety of sound sources, in which case a preamp is compulsory.

 

[Meridian7]

Youtuber Convincemeaudio once said that a full digital pre-amp can, on rare occasions, make a (digital) fluke and output full volume. He therefore likes a 'real' pre-amp to master the volume before a power amp.

Only once I had this happening on TT2, headphones got suddenly full volume after a startup of TT2 IIRC, restart and all okay, never happened again.
If that happens on a power amp you gonna jump even more and blow something if the odds are against you.
So chances are veeeery small, but it can, so I understand that youtubers position.
Most safe volume control is like a hardware Goldpoint thingy, that's never gonna fluke you and is 100% signal respecting.

I run a Rebelamp (in high gain) after TT2 with its own rebelamp volume control knob, but that one keeps fixed at say 10 o'clock and I use the TT2 in AMP mode (low gain) so I have still a Chord remote control working for volume. With TT2 in DAC mode I would have to turn rebelamp volume knob manually always.

 

[Rins]

Thanks for the suggestions and valuable advice.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

Youtuber Convincemeaudio once said that a full digital pre-amp can, on rare occasions, make a (digital) fluke and output full volume. He therefore likes a 'real' pre-amp to master the volume before a power amp.

Only once I had this happening on TT2, headphones got suddenly full volume after a startup of TT2 IIRC, restart and all okay, never happened again.
If that happens on a power amp you gonna jump even more and blow something if the odds are against you.
So chances are veeeery small, but it can, so I understand that youtubers position.
Most safe volume control is like a hardware Goldpoint thingy, that's never gonna fluke you and is 100% signal respecting.

I run a Rebelamp (in high gain) after TT2 with its own rebelamp volume control knob, but that one keeps fixed at say 10 o'clock and I use the TT2 in AMP mode (low gain) so I have still a Chord remote control working for volume. With TT2 in DAC mode I would have to turn rebelamp volume knob manually always.

I have a fully-analog preamp between my TT-2 and my power amp, it makes it all sound better. I will always have this preamp present, it is fantastic. The TT-2 is always set to DAC mode.

 

[alekc]

I have a fully-analog preamp between my TT-2 and my power amp, it makes it all sound better. I will always have this preamp present, it is fantastic. The TT-2 is always set to DAC mode.

@GuiltyRocker care to share which preamp is that?

 

[AussieMick]

LTA MZ3 as preamp between TT2 and Pass Labs XA25. I adore it, but one of my very good friends (who is a Hugo2 user, much prefers TT2 as preamp straight into XA25.

Try both and see what you like best.

I used TT2 as preamp very happily while I saved for the MZ3, and truth be told I return to that set up whenever I feel like a change.

 

[LCMusicLover]

My 2 cents worth -- I've used my Hattor Mini balanced preamp to direct TT2 DAC output to multiple headphone amps, like this:

mTT2 (DAC mode) ==> Hattor Mini ==> DSHA-3F | Liquid Platinum

Lately I've pulled the preamp out of the system as it wasn't adding anything soncially, just flexibility/convenience. At this point it's mTT2 (amp mode) ==> DSHA-3F, using the TT2 remote to control volume. And I'm perfectly happy with the results.

The preamp which @AussieMick mentions is a different story -- tube stage adds some 'flavor' which I don't get from my Hattor. Amusingly, I have played with:

mTT2 (DAC mode, SE out) ==> BottleHead Crack ==> Liquid Gold

treating the Crack as a 'tube preamp', to inject some tube flavor into a TT2-driven chain. I enjoy that very much when driving low Z planars which don't sound great direct out of my Crack. My ZMFs are perfectly happy running directly out of the Crack.

 

[AussieMick]

My 2 cents worth -- I've used my Hattor Mini balanced preamp to direct TT2 DAC output to multiple headphone amps, like this:

mTT2 (DAC mode) ==> Hattor Mini ==> DSHA-3F | Liquid Platinum

Lately I've pulled the preamp out of the system as it wasn't adding anything soncially, just flexibility/convenience. At this point it's mTT2 (amp mode) ==> DSHA-3F, using the TT2 remote to control volume. And I'm perfectly happy with the results.

The preamp which @AussieMick mentions is a different story -- tube stage adds some 'flavor' which I don't get from my Hattor. Amusingly, I have played with:

mTT2 (DAC mode, SE out) ==> BottleHead Crack ==> Liquid Gold

treating the Crack as a 'tube preamp', to inject some tube flavor into a TT2-driven chain. I enjoy that very much when driving low Z planars which don't sound great direct out of my Crack. My ZMFs are perfectly happy running directly out of the Crack.

Important to note the MZ3 circuit is the beast coloured tube amp I’ve ever heard. The ZOTL tech is quite wonderful. It made a Feliks Euforia EVO sound tubby and slow.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

@GuiltyRocker care to share which preamp is that?

This baby, the Parasound JC-2 designed by John Curl, the analog Rob Watts.

 

[alekc]

This baby, the Parasound JC-2 designed by John Curl, the analog Rob Watts.

@GuiltyRocker now I understand fully your earlier statement. I bet it not only looks marvellous (I love simplicity that makes a bold statement of what to expect from the device) but sounds sublime not only with Chord dacs.

 

[Meridian7]

Parasound JC-2 designed by John Curl, the analog Rob Watts.

Common ground is also: both got demolished by Amir the giant killer.

Seems a bad ASR review is the best advertising one could imagine these days.