"ScottW" wrote in message
ups.com...

Robert Morein wrote:
"ScottW" wrote in message
ups.com...

Schizoid Man wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking for a sub-$500 pre-owned pre-amp. Phono section not
required. The sources will be Aux1 (TV), Aux2 (DVD) and primarily CD.
Can anyone recommend some makes/models?

Given my budget, or lack thereof, I'm starting out with the usual
suspects - Adcom, Rotel, NAD.

I've got a C-70 which is very functional IMO. I think this will serve
you well. I switched to a passive attenuator for my line level sources
and am hard pressed to tell a difference.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1138482535

Don't let the Yamaha haters give you any crap. The C- series is well
designed and very reliable.

I use a couple. It's a great preamp if you know how to solder, but there
are
two considerations:
1. The circuit boards are single sided epoxy paper. The solder
connections
holding the relays on the board develop cracks from the vibration of the
relay action.

I've never seen a solder joint fail due to relay vibration. I suspect
thermal cycling is a far more likely cause. My unit has no
detectable heat output so I wonder if you may have a problem in your
power supply... a leaky cap perhaps.

I did have one of the main output connectors cracked a solder joint but
I attribute that to the use of monster interconnects which were grossly
too tight. I touched the joints with my iron and haven't had problem
since.

I will never understand why some people think soldering requires
skill... its just too easy.

Once learned, yes. A lot of people just don't want to wait long enough for
the solder to melt. I've seen lots of separation from the board from people
using the iron improperly.
Some son't want to take the time to tin the iron or keep it clean. I have a
freind who works in a machine shop where they do van conversions for he
handicapped and does a lot of soldering and does it beautifully. He
installs the electronics that control the doors and the lift, etc. and
therefore is soldering every day, yet his work, good as it is, is not nearly
as good as his wife's. Go figure.


The units can always be repaired by resolding them, but this
is a definite design weakness. On the plus side, these preamps actually
have
a balanced output, supplying both normal and inverted phase. The output
impedance is the lowest I've ever seen, around 15 ohms.
2. The analog power supply is cooled via vents on the top of the cabinet.
This area of the preamp runs extremely hot. These vents must not be
obscured
by stacking, or very expensive repairs will be required. Even so, the
board
tends to brown in this area.

Great line drivers, great sound. Just those little problems.

As I said... for $150 with a decent phono stage I think he'd be hard
pressed to find a better deal.

And the parts should they need replacing are always standard AFAICR.