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Pre amp with XLR output

yespsb

yespsb

pfm Member
I am giving serious thought to getting to getting a pair of Van Alstine DVA M225 mono blocks however these amps utilise XLR input meaning I need a pre amp with XLR output to feed the mono blocks.

I am struggling to find any, hence my post. Here's hoping the collective nous of PFM can point me in the right direction. Thanks Paul
 
A couple that have crossed my path - Quad Artera Pre, McIntosh C49.
There's actually quite a choice but they tend to be more expensive.
 
I like my Schiit Freya+, if you don’t want tubes there is also the Freya-s. I tried both and for me the + is the clear winner even in buffered mode without tubes, the S version had a certain timbre that did not sit well with me. Ymmv though.
 
Two of the most transparent XLR in/out pre's are the Topping Pre90 at around £450 and the Benchmark LA4 at around £ 3K.
 
I had a look at the Van Alstine website - he doesn't seem to sell a pre with balanced outs, which is odd because these ($1700 ea.) amps seem to only have XLR inputs. Might be worth asking how the recommend hooking up their pres to these monoblocks.

If your pre budget matches the amp budget, then I'd be looking at an older generation Pass Labs - e.g. and XP10.

There's also Grace, Benchmark, Parasound, BAT, & PS Audio.
 
avahifi
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Re: A second review of the new DVA 225 Monoblock amps
« Reply #9 on: 26 Apr 2021, 07:44 pm »

Well!
The cat is really out of the bag now! Universal agreement that our brand new M225 mono amps are something very special.

$1699 each and actually available right now! The pair I just send to an Audiophila reviewer is not coming back, the reviewer bought them the same day he unboxed them.

One spare pair ready to ship in house now, but another batch will be ready within a couple of weeks.

Dimensions are 9" wide, 10" deep, 4" high and shipping weight of 18 pounds.
Note that they are pure differential balanced designs with XLR inputs only. We will have a small outboard stereo RCA to XLR adaptor available soon.
Click to expand...

These are not soulless Class D switching amps, the are true Class AB designs biased on to about 20W chassis A. There is just an unbelievable lot of high class stuff packing in this small AVA designed chassis including mirror imaged audio boards and separate regulated power supplies for each channel and regulated output mosfet transistors too.
 
Thank you to everyone that's taken the time to reply. I would like to keep the cost of the pre amp to £1500 or less and I am happy with second hand kit.
As for the question of converter's, AVA offer these but there's something deep inside me that says (without any evidence I hasten to add) that this a cludged option and it will somehow degrade the signal. I am somewhat obsessive about signal purity. Obviously my concerns could be nonsensical but I would be more confident if I knew a bit more about how the converter's actually worked.
 
If you can find one I would recommend a Bladelius Advantage S2 preamp, balanced, sounds fantastic, looks great & will not cost a fortune if, as I say, you can find one.
 
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