Hi all, I want to buy a new preamp, as mine is now 38 years old! I really don't want to spend more than $850.00. I want to buy new, any suggestions? I went the Emotiva route, and that did not work out.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CKOBH22
Do you need more inputs?

I do need one more input, and one phono input. How is the Parasound P3? Seems in this economy sooner or later there is going to be a good deal.

I like this one.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NAC165BEE

Another suggestion could be from Cambridge Audio.
They are designed by Doug Self who is extremely well regarded and has written numerous books on distortion mechanisms in amplifiers etc. These too are regarded as definitive, so it's not surprising that Cambridge Audio is embarrassing the more expensive competition.

Cambridge Audio Azur 840E

BTW, what is the amp that you have?

Nice pre-amp, but way over $1000.0. I would think in this down spiraling economy good deals are bound to pop up sooner or later.

NAD makes good equipment. It is a good price with free shipping. Look at the reviews.

I'm checking that out now. What ticks me off is I already cut an openning for the Emotiva to fit out the back of my cabinet, and the NAD is a half height component. Looks like a very nice pre-amp though. Have you seen one? Looks like plastic knobs.

No I have never seen one. You can call audio advisor and they should be able to tell you what you want.

This preampålifier sound many many classes above those already mentioned in this thread.
It's norwegian.
Name is Abrahamsen V 3.0

Abrahamsen was a company raised with money from the oil industry in norway from the ashes of the well known ElectroCompaniet.

Price in Norwegian Kr ~5.500,-

In American $$ it will be ~820,-

Now you will have to search the market extremely thorough for months to better sound for that kind of money.

The thing is...........You have to find it yourself on your market.

Here's a picture:



You gotta admit it's a beauty as well.

Quote: "The preamplifier in the V-series has outstanding musicality, exquisite design and it is very user friendly. Combine this with smooth and refined sound and you have a fiest for both the eyes and ears. The pre-amplifier is equipped with 3 RCA inputs and one balanced XLR input. To achieve the best possible result it is recommended to us a fully balanced CD player such as the Abrahamsen V1.0 CD player.


The remote control is compatible with the rest of the products in the V-series.

With the V3.0 you can easily set up one of the inputs to a home theatre input. This means that you can integrate it with an existing surround receiver.


Frequency response:0-70.000 Hz +/-3 dB
Signal/noise: >100 dB
THD: 0,005 %
1 Balanced (XLR) inputs
3 Line inputs (RCA)
Tape output (RCA)
Ring core - transformer
Remote control
LCD-display
Digital volume control

Width 430mm
Height 105mm
Depth 321mm
Weight 7 kg"

You can even read the user manual in advance if you want:
http://www.vseries.no/pdf/manualer/owner_V3.0_v1.0.pdf

"dolph"

Is there and electrical current switch on that unit, if not it might not be usable in the states. btw thats a nice looking unit.

Yes there is.
And that will be to read in the manual as linked to.

"dolph"

nice design on that Abrahamsen.

Awesome unit.
Tanx for sharing.

Very nice unit. They don't export here. You can buy from them. Here is their site.
http://www.abrahamsenaudio.com/
They have a very nice DAC for 520.00 american for some one looking for one.