The preamplifier

Preamplifiers are the heart of the system. 

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for an audiophile can use DAC to connect directly to the power amplifier. There are some cd players who can do this as well. But there is something about having a preamplifier in the system that makes the sound sublime!

I have used a few preamplifiers in my audiophile life. I started with the Audio Research SP8 about 20 years ago. Not only was it my first preamplifier but my first tubed preamplifier as well. From here, I understood what the hype of tube is all about.  

After a couple of years with the SP8, I changed to a solid-state preamplifier with the Pass Lab Aleph P. Funnily enough, the Pass preamplifier sounded more valve like than the Audio Research before it. After living with the Pass for a few years, I went back to tubes again with the Audio Research LS5 Mk2.

The ARC LS5 Mk2 is unique in that it has only XLR inputs and outputs, no RCA connection at all, whether input or output. Not a problem for me even then, as I was already into balanced connection. Another fact about this preamplifier is that it uses 10 tubes, all 6922s! I am not a guy who’s into tube rolling. All the 6922s I used are from Electro Harmonix and I have only changed it once in the 6 years I own the LS5Mk2. The LS5 Mk2 sounded meatier than the Pass with better definition of the soundstage.

Later I changed this to the Audio Research LS25 Mk2, which stayed with me for more than 5 years. The ARC LS25 Mk2 was less tube sounding than the LS5 before it. I expected this because the former used only 2 pieces of 6H30 tubes versus the former of 10 pieces of 6922 tubes in the latter. I would say that the ARC LS5 Mk2 sounded more old school! The LS25 Mk2 has a darker background and was cleaner sounding.

Now I own another Audio Research preamplifier with the Reference 5SE. This is the best preamplifier I have used thus far. The Ref 5SE uses 5 pieces of 6H30 and 1 piece of 6550 tubes. One thing that I could easily discern when I replaced this preamplifier with the LS25Mk2 was that the imaging is much, much more rock solid, not only on the center but the periphery as well. The tone is much denser and sound much cleaner. Another major improvement was on the depth of the soundstage which has now become deeper. Layering of the soundstage has also improved significantly. Everything sounds much more solid. Background is just plain black, which help to allow the music to breathe through. I believed this is due to higher amount of power supply in the Ref 5SE. Well, the Ref 5SE is packed to the rafters with capacitors. It also has 2 transformers, a R core for audio circuits and a toroid for the digital display.

I love vocals and the album from Lau Tak Lai (HQCD cd ISBN 978-7-7984-0884-3) showcases the strength of Ref 5SE. Imaging is first rate. You can feel the palpability not only when the music is playing but also during the silent moments. Another album I cherish is Julie London’s Time For Love - The Best Of Julie London (Rhino Records‎– R2 70737). The imaging is more there “there”. In track 16, at 1.16 into the song, I can easily hear Julie trying to clear her throat. You can easily hear the “imperfections” in the song.

Having said that the Ref 5SE does not only excel in vocals but also pop and classical music. I listen to Stereo Sound Reference Record Nobu’s Popular Selection (SSRR5 (TDGD90016)). It’s actually a selection of pop music chosen by Mr Nobuyuki Fu. Rosanna (Toto) and Let’s Groove (Earth, Wind and Fire) sounded heavenly. For classical music, my reference is the Tutti Ochestral Sampler from Reference Recording (RR-906). My go to track is No.15 (Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition: IX. The Hut on Fowl’s Legs “Baba-Yagá”) by Eiji Oue conducting the Minnesota Orchestra. The eeriness that this track brings is easily felt. It should be cause Baba Yaga is a cannibal!

The Ref 5SE lets you hear good recordings at its best but somehow made poor recordings more bearable.  

Audio Research Reference 5SE

The source

A true audiophile never stops upgrading. The extend of the changes depends on the sound that we are after and how deep our pocket is. Everything in my system has changed over the past decade. I will share the changes in each different post, from source to accessories. I will start with the source and work my way through everything.

Like most audiophiles, I started with a typical “starter set-up”, i.e. a source, an integrated amplifier and a pair of speakers. But when I can afford it and its availability, I changed one gear at a time. I have only one source which is the cd player. I had a Thorens TD160 turntable for a short while. But the thought of fiddling with the alignment, azimuth and whatnot, got the better of me. I don’t want to spend so much time on these things. So, a cd player suits me. 

The first memorable cd player I had, was the Philips 850Mk2 cd player. It was smooth sounding player with good details, much better than the Marantz CD63SE which was the rage at that time. What more, it plays a lot of cds well. It does not impart a clinical sound but it does not gloss over a poor recording either. After a year or so, I changed it to the Classé .5 cd player. I chose this cd player because it has balanced output. The gains were much higher than the usual RCA output. Sound wise it was as good as the Philips 850Mk2, with a touch more digital sounding than the Philips. 

After a few years with the Classé, I upgraded to Meridian 508.24 cd player. I had lusted over the Meridian cd player ever since I heard it over at a friend’s setup. The Meridian had more details than the Classé and the gain was higher, even though I had used the balanced output on both cd players. Like the Philips 850Mk2 player, it is not a clinical sounding cd player. The soundstage and depth were an improvement from the Classé which means it is wider and deeper.

Now my current cd player is the BMC 1.1 cd player.  This cd player has the biggest Play button I had ever seen! This button also acts as a forward or backward in choosing the track that you want to listen to. The BMC sound livelier than the Meridian with loads more details. Then again, the Meridian was already approaching 10 years old. On the cd by Alice Lau (The Music Lab MBVOC-1008), you can easily hear her breathing before belting out the next word in the song. Soundstage wise, it is more stable though depth remains the same when compared to the Meridian. Another cd that showcase good soundstage is are Happy Meeting You by Lee Shou (Perfect Music), a tribute to Teresa Teng. The instruments appear extremely solid. This is also heard when listening Legendary James Wong cd from the same publisher. In fact, the soundstage is so solid and 3 dimensional, it is errie! Well, the BMC uses a belt to turn the cd. Not a common thing in a cd player.

We are back!!!

I have taken a long hiatus from the blog. Work has taken a big bulk of my time, not from listening to music but writing about it. Much has changed since I last post. From the type of music (this has become eclectic) to every gear in my system. Will share what has changed in system in the next post.