rockable wrote:Regarding a preamp, should I buy a NAD, Lux or similar older Solid State preamp or should I mod a PAS to use with my system? I will play ipod, CDs and Vinyl through it. Will I give up some of the tube magic by using SS preamp?
Well, if you like the idea of DIY (just a guess, given where this thread is being posted), you could always do something like the Millett MAX hybrid preamp - just buy a board
here, buy all the sundry parts, stuff the board and put it in a chassis. I have an original (non-MAX) version of the preamp and it is
great. The downside is no phono section, but you could always start with something like
this or build a phono preamp section from a PAS preamp. I'm sure someone on DIYTube could help you with a PSU design for using the phono preamp as a stand-alone.
Another option is to watch eBay and Audiogon for a used Lazarus Cascade Basic preamp - they're a great little preamp with tuner, tape and phono inputs.
-D