I am not one to go out and buy new much of the time, especially, with home audio equipment. I had a dual mono Soundstream C-1 preamp that I loved. It went bad and could not be repaired because no schematics exist......not even at Soundstream (shame on them). So I am in the market for a preamp to use with my lovely Phase Linear 200 amp and McIntoch XR-14 speakers. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good audio preamp? I do have a McIntosh taste, but not the budget for McIntosh.

See if you can find a Carver preamp on CL or eBay. Carver developed the Phase Linear gear after all...

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It may sound wacky, but I once had a Sanyo (laugh if you must) Plus Series C55 preamp. Connected to a Hafler power amp and JBL monitors, it was a budget way of getting audiophile level specs.

I go with G-Benz, you can find them on ebay. Harmon Kardon pre-1990 models are also good buys, I use two HK Citations (70's or 80's vintage) , one for front set of Klipsch towers and one for the rear set, I think I paid like 75$ each for them at the local pawn shop, they sound great driving my Rotels, the neighbors call the cops all the time to tell them how great they sound.

There's another company called Pyle that sells cheap pre-amps on Overstock.com, I was amazed how good one sounded and the number of features you could get for like 100$

Are there modern preamplifiers that have digital inputs?

I have a B&K Pro 10 MC Sonata Series pre amp. I'm very happy with it. It's been on for past 15+ years, except for power outages.

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83 SD

84 CD

Have you opened it up yet?

As far as preamps go you could probably get a Rotel, Hafler, or NAD for under $150.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I have been keeping an idea on a few Phase Linears.

Yes, I took it to a repair shop and they are the ones that found out that no known schematics exist. I googled and searched only to find 2 posts on audio sites of people in the same situation as I am with repairing Soundstream equipment.

Bidding on a McIntosh C-29

I don't know what vintage you're talking about, thus how many IC's if any might be in the pre amp, but of all circuitry to go through without a schematic an amplifier would have to be one of the easiest to follow and draw what schematic necessary as you move through it.

It's been about 30 years since I did much bench work, but it sounds like a competent tech could home in on the problem depending on the construction methods.

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Heh kids these days.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I'm big on the having my gear all matchy-matchy. I'd hunt down a matching Phase Linear pre - looks like that's their 2000/3000/4000 models.

That said, moving towards Mac stuff is a good direction to go.

I have been looking for a P/L, however, not many out there for sale. McIntosh is a big coin, but just like a W123 parts and service are not an issue.