ADVICE? - Active Speakers (Kanto YU6) with ROTEL RC-1572 Preamp - Dumb Idea?

[esoteric_audio]

Hello everyone!

A little while back I purchased a pair of Kanto YU6 Active Speakers + a Kanto Subwoofer and found the sound quality to be quite decent.

I'd like to take my system to the next level with a preamp, in order to bypass the speaker's phono stage and give myself additional features such as a DAC, networking options, optical inputs etc.

I was also thinking that the preamp would be a long term investment e.g. pair it with another component such as the RA-1572 Integrated Amplifier and a new set of better speakers (down the line). 

So it boils down to this: For the time being, is it a silly idea to pair an active pair of speakers with a Preamp?

Would I be better off selling my active speakers and just getting an Integrated Amp + passive speakers? 

Thoughts?


 

[Guest]

In short, not a silly idea. In fact many people operate quite fancy systems that way. The choice is vast though- many folks consider Rotels power amps to be considerably better than their pres, though I have no first-hand experience to corroborate that.

 

Down the track if you choose you can then upgrade your active speakers, or change to passive and add a similar quality power amp to the mix.

[Misternavi]

On 28/04/2020 at 8:54 AM, esoteric_audio said:

Hello everyone!

A little while back I purchased a pair of Kanto YU6 Active Speakers + a Kanto Subwoofer and found the sound quality to be quite decent.

I'd like to take my system to the next level with a preamp, in order to bypass the speaker's phono stage and give myself additional features such as a DAC, networking options, optical inputs etc.

I was also thinking that the preamp would be a long term investment e.g. pair it with another component such as the RA-1572 Integrated Amplifier and a new set of better speakers (down the line). 

So it boils down to this: For the time being, is it a silly idea to pair an active pair of speakers with a Preamp?

Would I be better off selling my active speakers and just getting an Integrated Amp + passive speakers? 

Thoughts?


 

Active speakers + Pre to control volume is a great simple set up.
A better set up is get a Digital to analogue converter (DAC) with volume control built in. If you only have digital sources.

[davewantsmoore]

On 28/04/2020 at 8:54 AM, esoteric_audio said:

Would I be better off selling my active speakers and just getting an Integrated Amp + passive speakers? 

That would be quite a change, and it's impossible to say better/worse without knowing specifics.

 

On 28/04/2020 at 8:54 AM, esoteric_audio said:

is it a silly idea to pair an active pair of speakers with a Preamp?

What is the source(s) you have now?....  how do you connect it/them to your speakers?

 

If you need things like a "central" volume control for multiple sources, digital inputs, input switching, remote control, etc. etc. .... then a preamp is not a bad idea.

 

If you are simply looking to add a preamplifier because you think it will make your system sound better..... then more specifics are required..... but it's nothing like sure thing that it will.

[Dean Gale]

I think getting a second hand preamp is a great idea using a splitter if needed for the sub(s). Means you can add a Dac ,  turntable , streamer as you go forward . What analogue connections are available on the speakers , RCA or balanced or both ? 

[Irek]

"Would I be better off selling my active speakers and just getting an Integrated Amp + passive speakers? "

Yes and No. It depends on the budget. 

[gwurb]

On 28/04/2020 at 8:54 AM, esoteric_audio said:

I'd like to take my system to the next level with a preamp, in order to bypass the speaker's phono stage and give myself additional features such as a DAC, networking options, optical inputs etc.

I was also thinking that the preamp would be a long term investment e.g. pair it with another component such as the RA-1572 Integrated Amplifier and a new set of better speakers (down the line). 

Four quick options:

1. Pre amp in to line input of active speakers. You'll need to get the audio from your source to the pre amp.

2. If your source is digital you could get a pre amp or network streamer with a built in DAC and have the pre amp going to line input of active speakers. Need to make sure that you can still supply the pre amp

3. pre amp to power amp to passive speakers. Need to get the audio to The pre amp.

4. Integrated amp to passive speakers

if you like how your speakers sound and you already have a way to get the audio to them then what advantage does pre amp give you? The speakers have 3.5mm, RCA and optical input, how are you getting your audio to them? Do you need more inputs?

 

[esoteric_audio]

Hey gwrub!

I guess what I'm after is actually bypassing the phono stage that is inbuilt in the active speakers in favour of a better quality one - such as the one inbuilt in the Rotel pre-amp.

I'm also after a DAC - which the Rotel pre-amp has. 

The bluetooth processor in the Rotel pre-amp is also of a higher quality, which means I can again bypass the native one inbuilt in the active speakers.

Overall, the pre-amp has a lot more connectivity, and I believe it can be matched with other pieces in the future.

All that being said, it does come to a hefty fee of $1799.

The alternative option I was considering was:

Get a DragonFly DAC to satisfy my FLAC needs - run this straight from the PC into the active speakers.
Get a good quality phono pre-amp to bypass the one in the active speakers. 

This alternative option would see me spending under $1,000 - which also means I could upgrade to a better turntable (I'm currently using a vintage Pioneer with a cheap AudioTechnica cartridge).

I just feel like the Rotel RC-1572 pre-amp is a long term investment which ticks a lot of boxes - but it could also be overkill?

Been ruminating on this for weeks... 

[esoteric_audio]

10 hours ago, Irek said:

"Would I be better off selling my active speakers and just getting an Integrated Amp + passive speakers? "

Yes and No. It depends on the budget. 

Hey Irek

Thanks for the reply mate.

The budget depends on whether I keep the active speakers and sub I currently have.

If I can sell them for around $1000-1200, then my budget for a totally new system would be closer to $4k.

If I keep the active speakers and sub, by budget to improve on what I have is more around the $2.5k mark.

As mentioned, what I'm after is a better phono stage than what the active speakers offer, as well as a DAC and extra connectivity.

What I like about the Rotel RC-1572 https://www.rotel.com.au/products/rc-1572 is that it offers everything in the one unit, and if I ever decide to go down the passive speaker path in the future, I can grab Rotel power amp.

Cheers! 

[gwurb]

2 hours ago, esoteric_audio said:

Hey gwrub!

I guess what I'm after is actually bypassing the phono stage that is inbuilt in the active speakers in favour of a better quality one - such as the one inbuilt in the Rotel pre-amp.

I'm also after a DAC - which the Rotel pre-amp has. 

The bluetooth processor in the Rotel pre-amp is also of a higher quality, which means I can again bypass the native one inbuilt in the active speakers.

Overall, the pre-amp has a lot more connectivity, and I believe it can be matched with other pieces in the future.

All that being said, it does come to a hefty fee of $1799.

The alternative option I was considering was:

Get a DragonFly DAC to satisfy my FLAC needs - run this straight from the PC into the active speakers.
Get a good quality phono pre-amp to bypass the one in the active speakers. 

This alternative option would see me spending under $1,000 - which also means I could upgrade to a better turntable (I'm currently using a vintage Pioneer with a cheap AudioTechnica cartridge).

I just feel like the Rotel RC-1572 pre-amp is a long term investment which ticks a lot of boxes - but it could also be overkill?

Been ruminating on this for weeks... 

Thanks for that. I understand what you are after a lot better after reading that.

 

My recommendation would be if you place big importance on a turntable then go for separates. My turntable is modest so I am happy to run it from an integrated amp.

A few things about separates: need extra space, gives you flexibility to pick stages that you enjoy, won't suit if you are a person who just wants thing to be as simple as possible by having 1 box for everything, may cost you more money, I think they are worth it if you and your ears are a bit picky.

The challenge with an integrated amp is that it may not do what you want in one part and then you need an extra separate to improve that anyway so you end up with more boxes either way. I can't think of many integrated amps that are optimised at everything. Integrated amps have power stages so you need to make sure they have a line out if you use active speakers. If you are not using the power stage then that's not a great use of money. If you are considering items at your budget and you have the space then I would go for separates. 

A few suggestions if you go separates:

1. Skip dragonfly red and go for something like Topping D50s; you get Bluetooth, USB in from a PC, coax in and optical in. Its a great DAC for the money, its available on classifieds, it may fulfil your needs and if it doesn't then it's pretty easy to upgrade without a big financial risk.

2. I am no expert on phono stages. There are plenty of people to ask here, and you may get a better result on a specific sub forum.

3. I would recommended thinking of a pre amp as a source selection and volume control. It gives you freedom to get other separates to get your desired/happy sound. It also allows you to pick a wider selection of pre amps including kit ones if you so desire. Pre amps can really focus on getting volume control to have minimal noise, clear signal paths etc: simple but great at volume control and source selection. I'd favour this over integrated in a separates setup with active speakers.

4. If you like how your current speakers sound then keep them, at least for now. If over time you would prefer to change the sound then as long as you are happy to use the space for separates and you don't mind dealing with many boxes then you have a much simpler question that focuses purely on amplification and speakers: power amp and passive speaker, or active speaker, or dsp box plus a power amp plus passive speaker, or dsp box plus active speaker.

5. You have an option of going for a second hand older analogue integrated that was higher end in its day. If you find something that was great at source selection and has line out then you have you pre amp without volume control. With this option I would weigh up between quality older gear, price, and availability of second hand pre amps vs purely analogue integrated amps. The only catch here is that the volume control needs to be at the speakers. But you can play around with speaker level out and passive speakers.

6. If you eventually choose to move on your turn table then you could simply keep the topping d50s and active speakers and you get DAC with bluetooth in a small box. There is a Topping D90 upgrade for balanced out or some other DAC if you want a completely different DAC.

 

I hope this helps.

Edited April 30, 2020 by gwurb

[Irek]

There is no problem to add DAC or streamer to any system. I would focus on preferable sound quality. One way to find out what the next level would be is to take your speakers to the shop and compare it directly with whatever available at your price range. One of the popular choices among actives are Kef ls50W . Systems with passive speakers are much easier to modify or upgrade.

[BraddK]

Hey mate, no not a silly idea at all! (Of course I would say this as I have the rc1572 hooked up to my PMC result6s studio monitors). 

But seriously, it's a great preamp, I love my monitors for recording and mixing, but also wanted them to be my "stereo setup" also. So in came the 1572, it's great as I run my Rotel CD14 into it, and also my focusrite audio interface so all my recording ins/outs are available at the flick of a switch.

 

I figured also that if I get some better passive speakers later down the track, I can just get a suitable power amp for them and still use the 1572. 

Gotta love separates

[2Brix]

On 28/04/2020 at 6:54 AM, esoteric_audio said:

Hello everyone!

A little while back I purchased a pair of Kanto YU6 Active Speakers + a Kanto Subwoofer and found the sound quality to be quite decent.

I'd like to take my system to the next level with a preamp, in order to bypass the speaker's phono stage and give myself additional features such as a DAC, networking options, optical inputs etc.

I was also thinking that the preamp would be a long term investment e.g. pair it with another component such as the RA-1572 Integrated Amplifier and a new set of better speakers (down the line). 

So it boils down to this: For the time being, is it a silly idea to pair an active pair of speakers with a Preamp?

Would I be better off selling my active speakers and just getting an Integrated Amp + passive speakers? 

Thoughts?


 

 

hey @esoteric_audio you probably have all the answers you need but i thought i'd throw in my 2c as well...why not eh?

 

I use active speakers and for me a pre-amp is a must...allows me to feed in various sources (CD, out board phonostage, AVR front channels).

 

It seems you are thoughtfully choosing a quality preamp with most of the features you conceivably need in the short term, and may even the long term!  

 

Just for fun i did a quick search and found one shop with the RC-1572 on sale for $1599 so that might tempt you further  and you could put the "savings" towards a better cartridge or some LPs.  I'll flick you a PM which you should see next time you check into the forum.

 

Cheers

2B

 

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by 2Brix