Looking for an honest 2/ch Pre-amp?

I just dig mine so much I had to post.
If your looking to get more out of your 2/ch rig and an honest evaluation of how your rig truly sounds. Check out this auction on Audiogon. No affil.
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc....ran&1052182874

The starting bid is very reasonable as I paid $100 more and still got a very good deal. If you want clean transparency and killer bass from a line drive don't pass this up. You must have a smooth front end on your rig or this will make a harsh sounding system worse. It also has balanced inputs and outputs. This was Parasounds best 2/ch pre and smokes all of that HALO crap.


Here are the specs.


Special Features
• Complementary MOSFETs • Gold-Plated Audiophile Jacks • Noted John Curl Design
• All Relay Switching • 20 Gold-Clad Precision Relays • Gold-Clad FR4 Circuit Boards
• Audiophile-Grade Capacitors • 92,000 uF Filter Bank • Dual-Mono Topology
• Pure Class A Discrete Circuit • Direct Input Function • Silver-Plated Wiring
• DC Servo Direct Coupled Circuit • High Current Design • Fully Remote Controlled
• IEC Removable AC Cord • Motorized Alps Volume Control • Pure Silver XLR Input Wire
• Balanced Inputs and Outputs • 0-180o Polarity Invert Control • Vishay Resistors in Critical Areas

Frequency Response
5 Hz - 150 kHz, +0/-2 dB, full output
Total Harmonic Distortion
<= 0.003%, 1 kHz
<= 0.005%, 20 kHz

IM Distortion
<= 0.003%

TIM
Unmeasureable

Maximum Output
> 10 V before clipping
Impedances
Unbalanced inputs 30 k ohms, ±5 %
Balanced inputs 30 k ohms per leg, ±5%
Line outputs <= 60 ohms
Recommended line load >= 600 ohms
Recommended headphone >= 8 ohms
Input Sensitivity
All inputs 150 mV, ±5%
Max Input Level 10.5 V before clipping
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
>110 dB, A weighted, full output
>90 dB, unweighted, full output
Crosstalk
>110 dB, < 10 kHz, full output
>100 dB, 20 kHz, full output
Channel Balance
<= 0.2 dB
Weight
19 lb.
Dimensions
19" W x 3-1/2" H (4-1/8" high with feet) x 15-3/4"
Power Requirements
110 V - 120 V AC, 12 W; may be rewired for 220 V - 240 V, 50 Hz

I think John Curl designed the gold phono preamp board in the Modulus 3A tube preamp like I have. He is credited with being a great designer.
madmax

My opinion FWIW, I totally agree with J. on Parasound. I don't have the 2000, but rather the 1100 which is, I guess the next step down. I'm pretty sure the basics are the same as far as quality components, etc. The specs probably are not quite as good and there are no balanced in and outs. If I'm not mistaken, J. had one before stepping up to the 2000. It made a huge improvement in my sound quality. With a Toshiba 9200 DVD as a source and a couple of Carver tfm 35x amps, I find myself looking for any excuse to listen these days!

If you don't want to go as high as that for the 2000, and you want a great Line Drive clean preamp, even the PLD 1100 will knock your socks off!! Ypu can find them from time to time for somewhere in the 250 to 300 range.

Take what you will from this, just an observation, an exclamation of joy and satisfaction with my Parasound experience. Glad to see you are enjoying yours as well J. By the way what interconnects did you eventually find?

Out,
Steve

Steve,


The 1100 I had was very clean. The 2000 just takes everything you love about it to the next level. More clean, more focus and best of all more bass. I'm using Monster XLR's that took about 25-35 hours to break in and they improve the focus of the soundstage. I would like to try others down the road; I just went that route because my friend sold them to me at cost. If you’re intrigued about upgrading to the 2000, it will throw you a second time. It's great finding these little gems on the cheap. It's also nice to see someone else confirming the same thing and enjoying the next level. I feel I will now have to drop 10-15k just to make it to the next worthy level.

-Jer