pre-amplifier for my system

[prem]

The standard B1 has no gain. Do not know the gain structure of the NAD power amp. Basis that you may need a pre with gain. In that case you need to look at a modded B1 which provides gain

 

[dheerajin]

May be this data helps to some extent..

 

[karthi1000]

hi dheerajin sir ,

i am having nad 162 pre and 275power for the past 5 yrs no pb at all. i think your room acoustics is the weak point here. try to play ur fav music and listen it with a nice headphone if its good then i think its ur room ,its my humble suggestion

 

[prem]

Hi dheerajin

I think 29 db voltage gain in the power section should be fine.

What is the preamp voltage gain in the NAD? When you use a B1, this gain will not be there.

Also does your dac output at 2v?

 

[karthi1000]

i had connected lyrita pre amp to nad power amp for my tt definitely sound improved but it introduced hum to the sound hence i settled with nad pre itself sold lyrita tube pre to my friend. after that i had done room acous measurement with rew and umik , based on the results i digitally try to correct the lapses with minidsp with 31 band eq software

now my stereo has cd -nad pre amp -minidsp -nad power amp-spkrs

i am now happy with it
as thad suggested adding a eq to correct the room aq lapses sound sense

 

[dheerajin]

Hi dheerajin

I think 29 db voltage gain in the power section should be fine.

What is the preamp voltage gain in the NAD? When you use a B1, this gain will not be there.

Also does your dac output at 2v?

voltage gain of pre amp section is not given but attaching the specs from the manual.
and below are specs of DAC
Output: One pair XLR balanced and two pairs RCA single-ended
Output Impedance: 75 ohms

Frequency Response, Analog Stage: 20Hz-20Khz, +/-0.1dB, 1Hz-100KHz, -1dB
Maximum Output: 4.0V RMS (balanced), 2.0V RMS (single-ended)

THD: Less than 0.002%, 20Hz-20KHz, at full output
IMD: <0.002%, CCIR
SNR: > 112dB, referenced to 2V RMS

 

[prem]

Hi dheerajin

You should be fine with a B1. In case you find the sound a bit lean ask for a 6v gain

 

[dheerajin]

Dear All,

Last week i got my hands onto IFI-ITUBE. and this week hoping for Pass B1.
This is to ensure that I have variety of sound signature according to different genres .
Brief review of ITUBE-
Disclaimer:Every brand has house sound, so its listeners preference to like them or not
It has got plenty of details compared to NAD pre and beauty of tube.
I am running it in direct mode means no 3D and antidote plus mode.
First album I played
Ry Cooder & V.M. Bhatt - A Meeting By The River (1993) [SACD]
heavenly.since this album was recorded on tube amplifier so reproduction was awesome with sound stage much wide. It was completely on a different level than before.
second album
The Eagles - Hotel California. 2011 SACD
Beats were upto the mark and very deep bass, i could not hear it with NAD pre.

Third album
Exotic Dances from the Opera (SACD-R)
here it fell behind NAD pre in terms of sound stage and separation

Fourth album
Saawariya-Hindi Soundtrack

Here also it was not upto the mark of NAD.


So my impression was different for each type of music ,for some it is wow and some, it is worse than before ..means compared to NAD,

But one thing is for sure this tiny machine is perfectly capable of polishing the sound and make it tube sound..obviously
it has tube inside but clarity and transparancy is also there..there are two other functions 3D sound and antidote Plus, but i
did not checked them for the sake of purity

I have often seen on the forum here and else where commented like this--NAD has average sound..and why it is recommended with list of other brands.
It is my observation that..NAD has a most soothing sound as compared to others and one can listen to it continuously upto umpteen
hours. Thats why it is still playing its game in the market. Proof is my family.They complained that now(ITUBE)sound is filling their head and older (NAD) was clean & soothing.

But for me its variety and now I can play songs according to their genre with 3 preamps-1)NAD 2)ITUBE 3)PassB1 .
I have the feeling that, Pass B1 will surpass the existing two in terms of details and everything, since stalwarts are praising it in this forum.
Mishrajee in Pune will help me in building the same.

Cheers
Dheeraj

 

[dheerajin]

Hi dheerajin

You should be fine with a B1. In case you find the sound a bit lean ask for a 6v gain

Yes Prem, I am Buying the PASS B1 with same specification , what you have mentioned.

Mishrajee,

I could not come to your place becuase I was bit busy. Anyway in the forum I got the PASS B1 with preamp circuit and remote control, so thought of buying it straight becuase everyone is vouching for PASS B1, so it cant go wrong.

Thanks to all...later will post brief review for encounter with PASS B1.

Cheers

Dheeraj

 

[prem]

Congrats Dheerajin.

 

[omishra]

Visited Dheerajin's place. Nice speakers and DAC. Also like that IFI Itube preamp.

 

[dheerajin]

Had a good day...

Mishrajee's visit and new revelations about DIY products and listening to ampcamp 5W amp...

PASS B1 reproduces all the frequencies with ease and everything falls into place...Highs are highs, mids are mids and Lows are lows..

and as it is transparent, it amplifies noise too..compared to IFI-ITUBE and NAD pre, however later two cant reproduce whole spectrum so noise is also eliminated in the process.

Have heard Mishrajee's Pass B1 with double buffer and it was sounding somewhat different with relaxed sound signature compared to my single buffer PASS B1.

Surprising thing was 5 watter ampcamp, it is class-A and was driving my speakers fluidly except no gain in volume. Anyway 5W, so was not expecting much, but proved once again that Class-A rules compared to Class-AB and it is due to current availability to speakers.
Had a discussion with mishrajee regarding building two class-A amps for bi-amping and hoping to venture into DIY.

Pass B1 is really a blessing for those who want to enjoy expensive sound without better half's frown..means without spending more than 15K -INR.

Cheers

Dheeraj