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Analogue preamp for Amptastic Mini-1 and/or NAP100?

I recently bought an Amptastic Mini 1 (on here) & I am currently using it with 2 passive "pres". I've also tried an active preamp.

After a little subjective evaluation, I prefer the current arrangement, which is 4-input NVA P50 SE feeding a single-input custom passive via it's tape output
 
I have an unused King Rex preamp. I've used it successfully with my Temple Audio mono blocks. It has inside it a diamond buffer stage that has been employed on high end Marantz amps. It has just two inputs and one output. All there is on the front panel is a volume knob. Switching between the two inputs is done automatically when a signal is detected.
 
Wow thats fantastic , i am sure you will love it .cracking little pre amps and made in usa .john stronzer great support too , prompt in reply . I also have the bel canto eix which has analogue pre amp and dac in it .however i do love the pre 5
 
Apparently it's ex-display, but the guy said it's defo in mint condition so fingers crossed that's the case. Whether it's overkill for the Amptastic, who knows , but I'm sure my Tannoys will be happy with it anyway as the word on the web says BC stuff should be a good match.
 
It’s not as big a deal as I used to think but you should probably invest in an LPSU for the Amptastic (if you haven’t already).
 
I'm still using the PSU that came with the Amptastic, well technically I haven't as I haven't been using the Amptastic at all. But if the Amptastic proves itself as a worthy poweramp I may well do that.

I know power supply has been discussed a number of times across a number of threads, but I'm still not sure about how to proceed as the 13.5v requirement is unusual and apparently, there's not much wiggle room.

Still, I'll try things out once the preamp arrives and see how it goes.
 
When/if the time comes you could borrow my 13.5V DC2 to see if it does anything for you.

I think a 12V supply works fine and is much more common, but I no longer have one. I still have a 15V supply and have a strong suspicion it’s what fried my Amptastic pcb (since replaced and never had a problem since with the 13.5).
 
Fwiw, the reason I'm keen to give the Amptastic a decent shot as a poweramp is that my Tannoys are currently in my bedroom and so I really need bass-lite amplification, much more so than when my Tannoys were in the living room. Plus, the Tannoys are very resolving and so they don't need an amplifier that's going to augment their top end capabilities. With these things in mind, the Amptastic should be a good practical match, although it still has to deliver in other areas as well, that goes without saying.
 
I think it'll work very well in that context, so long as it maintains enough grip - the psu and preamp would doubtless help here but if it works without the psu to your satisfaction, leave it at that.
 
windhoek said:
I guess a more pertinent question is would be any point in buying an expensive preamp if the poweramp is an Amptastic?
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I ran Amptastics as dual monos, well to be strictly accurate I ran a pair in dual passive bi-amp mode (I might even have the cable that I used for that somewhere).
Alex S said:
It’s not as big a deal as I used to think but you should probably invest in an LPSU for the Amptastic (if you haven’t already).
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Sticking an OTT power supply up its back side will make you laugh at how ridiculously good those little amps are.
windhoek said:
the reason I'm keen to give the Amptastic a decent shot as a poweramp is that my Tannoys are currently in my bedroom and so I really need bass-lite amplification
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Bass light ? I think it all depends on the power supply with the amptastics. OTOH, I don't think you'd want it driving difficult load speakers at head banging levels.

FWIW, If you like the amptastic, you'll love the Temple Audio Bantam Gold, which is so much more refined, but less attention grabbing ... to start with.​
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Since buying a Bantam Gold, I haven't run anything other than class D amps, I went from Bantam Gold to the Amptastic for a long time, using a Meridian G96 as the preamp (£5K, when new), so there's an answer for expensive preamp. From the Amptastics, I went back to the Bantam Gold, and then to the latest monoblocks, and I haven't looked back since.​
 
The Temples are indeed very nice little amps. I have the Bantam Gold, and the Monoblocks in the bedroom system. They have more grip and grunt than the Amptastic but lack a touch of its charm.
 
Alex S said:
They have more grip and grunt than the Amptastic but lack a touch of its charm.
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There's something to that. I ran the Amptastics for sometime before returning to the Bantam Gold, in the end I would say it's something like, say, running a naim based system with a 110, and grown up electronics, the Amptastic has a character which is always present. It's been several years since I heard the Amptastics in a system, though.
 
One thing I would have said is that one of the most useful features on a preamp which is intended for more than one application is adjustable gain - ideally programmable at individual inputs. This is the main reason why the Primare I'm using with my Aleph 3 is such a godsend.
 
Oily Rag said:
I have an unused King Rex preamp. I've used it successfully with my Temple Audio mono blocks. It has inside it a diamond buffer stage that has been employed on high end Marantz amps. It has just two inputs and one output. All there is on the front panel is a volume knob. Switching between the two inputs is done automatically when a signal is detected.
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+1 for kingrex
 
The BC Pre5 arrived safe and sound earlier, and after hooking it up between my Chord Qutest and Amptastic Mini-1, I'm pleased to say the Pre5 + Amptastic Mini-1 is just the pre-power combo I've been after: its essence is rich and smooth, perfect for a near-field setup, and, just as importantly, the combo only energises the Tannoys just enough and no more. Bearing in mind the listening space isn't really suitable for speakers any bigger than Kans, the fact that this pre-power combo has brought my Eaton Legacy speakers into a legitimate window of operation is practically miraculous.

Fwiw, I tried running the Pre5 with the NAP100 but the NAP just had too much power and too much heft for the listening space, so even though more power and heft would be better in almost every other situation, it's just too much in this instance.

I've yet to try vinyl playback as the phono stage I'd normally use is in my Brio. I think the Brio has a tape out so I might be able to use the Brio as a phono stage temporarily just to see how vinyl playback sounds through the new pre-power combo. Failing that, I've got a Trichord Dino 2 (with Dino PSU+) at hand so I can always use that.

As noted up-thread, I hadn't been able to play records in my bedroom system because vinyl playback through my Tannoys was just too overwhelming for the listening space. If vinyl playback still overwhelms the listening space then I think I'm just gonna have to ditch vinyl playback in the bedroom and make it a digital-only system.
 
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