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04/28/24 at 05:22:38

Forums › EQUIPMENT FORUMS › ZEN SARAH 300B

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Preamp for Sarah (Read 712 times)

Lutry

Verified Member

Posts: 6

Preamp for Sarah
01/03/24 at 01:24:46

Finally I got the Sarah properly set up. I'm using an OpticalRendu > Pontus II > Sarah > Cornwall IV. I'm in day 5 of the breaking-in process, so not much critical listening until now.

I'm now looking for a pre-amp with a remote control. I've seen that the Freya+ appears frequently in the signature of members of this forum, but would like to ask here in this thread for other options that might be a good match with the Sarah.
Thanks

Pontus II, ZROCK, Sarah, Cornwall IV

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Tony Seasoned Member "Life without ..music is inconceivable" A.Einsteln Posts: 627	Re: Preamp for Sarah Reply #1 - 01/03/24 at 03:50:26 Lutry, Congrats getting the system to where it sounds good to you. I found a CSP 2+ preamp that I liked. A couple months ago I replaced it with an Icon 4PRO, and have not looked back. I think it's worthy of your consideration with a Sarah.
Back to top	SE84UFO25 \| Ic0n4 Passive Preamp \| ZBIT \| Cambr. CXNv2 \| Denafrips Pontus II \| Denafrips Gaia \| Decware I/Cs \| Decware Pwr Cbls \| ZWIRE Speaker Cbls \| Omega SAHOM & KEF KC62 \| Furman Cond l GIK Room Trmt IP Logged

Kamran Seasoned Member Posts: 947	Re: Preamp for Sarah Reply #2 - 01/03/24 at 14:08:14 What Tony said.
Back to top	Innuos Pulse Streaming Transport and Phoenix Net Switch-Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC-Ic0n4 Autoformer Passive Pre-Sarah 300B SET Amp-ZBIT-GIK Room Treatment-Caintuck Audio Magnum Baffles—Li Audio Fast 15 Drivers-P.I. Audio MajikBuss & Puritan PSM 156 Conditioners IP Logged

Lon

Seasoned Member

"Love without
guts is
worthless!"
Philip K. Dick

Posts: 23536

Re: Preamp for Sarah
Reply #3 - 01/03/24 at 16:06:21

That said. . . I recently have discovered that a preamp actually made my system sound a bit worse in comparison to the SEWE300B without a preamp. Steve built I think the perfect preamp stage into the SEWE300B and I won't need a preamp again. A ZBIT, a ZROCK2. . . yes. They both add wonderful characteristics.

If you are truly needing remote control for volume, I would personally recommend the most transparent and neutral (perhaps passive or transformer based?) possible.

HR-1,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod; Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD, DAC Mk II, P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls, Reference spkrcbls; Mapleshade SamsonV3; VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones: Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1

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Lutry

Verified Member

Posts: 6

Re: Preamp for Sarah
Reply #4 - 01/03/24 at 19:06:53

It's interesting to see that two members recommend the IcOn 4. I believe only those following Srajan from 6moons know about this passive preamp as it's very niche. From what I've read, it's considered one of the most transparent preamps, which aligns with the point Tom was raising. It will be on my shortlist. Unfortunately, the price of the IcOn has increased quite
bit over the last couple of years.

Pontus II, ZROCK, Sarah, Cornwall IV

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Tony Seasoned Member "Life without ..music is inconceivable" A.Einsteln Posts: 627	Re: Preamp for Sarah Reply #5 - 01/03/24 at 20:15:48 Lutry, Keep an eye out for a sale as a used preamp. I got mine for about a third less than retail. I took it on faith from reports on the Decware Forum that it would be a good buy. In addition, I was happy with what I had before, so it still seemed like a big jump. If you are not in a rush, you will see one pop up. Good luck!
Back to top	SE84UFO25 \| Ic0n4 Passive Preamp \| ZBIT \| Cambr. CXNv2 \| Denafrips Pontus II \| Denafrips Gaia \| Decware I/Cs \| Decware Pwr Cbls \| ZWIRE Speaker Cbls \| Omega SAHOM & KEF KC62 \| Furman Cond l GIK Room Trmt IP Logged

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