nanahachi
Head-Fi FAQ(s) Volunteer
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Posts
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I have been debating getting a preamp for a while (vs other fun expenses), and finally decided last night to give my Melos Maestro a whirl as a pre. It was previously just collecting dust, so I switched out my Marantz integrated (which I was using as my Pre) and switched in the Melos.
My setup:
Source
Cary 306/200
Wolff Silver & Gold IC
Wolff Carbon Source PC
Preamp
Marantz PM-17 integrated --> replaced with Melos Maestro (w/ Amperex 7308 gold pins)
Tara Labs RSC Air 1 IC
Wolff Carbon Gain PC
Poweramp
Sim Audio Moon W-3
Grover SR speaker cable
PS Audio Lab II PC (I think)
PS Audio Ultimate Outlet
Speakers
Dynaudio Audience 70
Power Conditioning
Powervar 1200-11
With the Marantz, my speaker setup was quite fulfilling, making me happy daily. It was lush, yet detailed. Smooth, yet not at all muddy. The setup was great, but not perfect. I was nagged by the desire to improve on it (of course), feeling that there was something I could do to improve the setup. The SimAudio was my last major purchase, and my Cary isn't going anywhere, so I looked to replace my integrated with a pre to achieve improvement.
I swapped in the Melos somewhat late last night, and couldn't really play music too loudly. However, my brief initial impressions are as follows:
Seemingly improved detail
Stronger bass (but since I kept the volume how, hard to tell where the improvement was)
Clearer vocals.
BUT (and I know it is still too early to tell), the lush nature of the system felt lacking. The sweet midrange was sapped a bit, which is troubling since that is really one thing I loved about the system. I need to give this current rig a good, lengthy evaluation, but if my initial impressions continue to be the case, then I may just swap the Marantz back in and forgo the additional bass (and micro details).
I'm not really in a place to do cable rolling, especially since I was happy with the old rig, but tube rolling might be an option. Or, as I have been thinking, I may have to sell the Melos in favor of a different pre.
Any thoughts would very much be appreciated. Thanks!
My setup:
Source
Cary 306/200
Wolff Silver & Gold IC
Wolff Carbon Source PC
Preamp
Marantz PM-17 integrated --> replaced with Melos Maestro (w/ Amperex 7308 gold pins)
Tara Labs RSC Air 1 IC
Wolff Carbon Gain PC
Poweramp
Sim Audio Moon W-3
Grover SR speaker cable
PS Audio Lab II PC (I think)
PS Audio Ultimate Outlet
Speakers
Dynaudio Audience 70
Power Conditioning
Powervar 1200-11
With the Marantz, my speaker setup was quite fulfilling, making me happy daily. It was lush, yet detailed. Smooth, yet not at all muddy. The setup was great, but not perfect. I was nagged by the desire to improve on it (of course), feeling that there was something I could do to improve the setup. The SimAudio was my last major purchase, and my Cary isn't going anywhere, so I looked to replace my integrated with a pre to achieve improvement.
I swapped in the Melos somewhat late last night, and couldn't really play music too loudly. However, my brief initial impressions are as follows:
Seemingly improved detail
Stronger bass (but since I kept the volume how, hard to tell where the improvement was)
Clearer vocals.
BUT (and I know it is still too early to tell), the lush nature of the system felt lacking. The sweet midrange was sapped a bit, which is troubling since that is really one thing I loved about the system. I need to give this current rig a good, lengthy evaluation, but if my initial impressions continue to be the case, then I may just swap the Marantz back in and forgo the additional bass (and micro details).
I'm not really in a place to do cable rolling, especially since I was happy with the old rig, but tube rolling might be an option. Or, as I have been thinking, I may have to sell the Melos in favor of a different pre.
Any thoughts would very much be appreciated. Thanks!