newbie post.....pre out from integrated amp

bonenut

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hi i have a primare i20 integrated amp and have just added a exposure power amp to it from the pre outs...primare 70watts vs exposure 110watts(not a hugh wattage difference,but larger)

thing is when the primare was set on its own the volume at 12 on the dial was quite loud,when its hooked up to the exposure i have to increase the volume to about forty to get similar loudness,and at full volume 79 its loud but not as loud as when primare is on its own.

can anyone explain.thanks.
 
bonenut said:
hi i have a primare i20 integrated amp and have just added a exposure power amp to it from the pre outs...primare 70watts vs exposure 110watts(not a hugh wattage difference,but larger)

thing is when the primare was set on its own the volume at 12 on the dial was quite loud,when its hooked up to the exposure i have to increase the volume to about forty to get similar loudness,and at full volume 79 its loud but not as loud as when primare is on its own.

can anyone explain.thanks.

The manual only states it's a line level output but not what value. It also says it's for connecting another preamp which is odd to say the least.

Did you not try it first with the Exposure? If not why not. Surely a Primare power vamp might have been a better choice. Mixing brands like this is always frought with problems. Mixing integrated amps with a power amp has not been a good idea in my experience.

What speakers are you trying to drive such that 70 wpc is not enough?
 
Either the power amp isn't sensitive enough or the preamp has too low an output voltage to match effectively. Not all preamps deliver the same level, and not all power amps are equally sensitive.

Im not familiar with the numerical scale that Primare use, but as long as you can get enough power into your speakers for your lestening needs then you will be ok. If you can't, then you will have to return or sell on the power amp.

As Al says, matching without a trial is risky.
 

bonenut

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no,its not that 70 watts is not enough,i wanted to experiment with a power amp(never used them before)and went with a power amp first to try with my integrated and in the future would get a pre amp.

the speakers i am driving are audio smile kensai's which are indeed quite ineffient(83db)but i am mainly surprized with the results.i was happy with the results from the primare on its own but as i said i never used pre/power before and wanted to dip my toe in the water.
 
nopiano said:
Either the power amp isn't sensitive enough or the preamp has too low an output voltage to match effectively. Not all preamps deliver the same level, and not all power amps are equally sensitive.

Im not familiar with the numerical scale that Primare use, but as long as you can get enough power into your speakers for your lestening needs then you will be ok. If you can't, then you will have to return or sell on the power amp.

As Al says, matching without a trial is risky.

Agreed. I cannot find anywhere that says what the Primares output voltage is.

I've owned a Primare pre / power combo but never tried mixing it with a different power amp.
 
bonenut said:
no,its not that 70 watts is not enough,i wanted to experiment with a power amp(never used them before)and went with a power amp first to try with my integrated and in the future would get a pre amp.

the speakers i am driving are audio smile kensai's which are indeed quite ineffient(83db)but i am mainly surprized with the results.i was happy with the results from the primare on its own but as i said i never used pre/power before and wanted to dip my toe in the water.

Nice speakers for a small room but as you said pretty inefficient. Pre / power combinations can be very good but, as you have found, can be very tricky if from different manufacturers. Might I suggest, when cash allows, you do want to proceed down this route, you sell what you have and look for a second-hand Primare combo as I rate them very highly indeed.
 

bonenut

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thanks for the reply,i love the primare stuff,i also in a different room have the i30 and in my office i have the a10 with other primare cd players and fm radios.i did not realize that matching pre/power was that niggly.i only bought the exposure because it came up second hand fairly inexpensive and close.i tend to buy second hand in a close forum community in my area and like experimenting with gear and it would cost to much buying new.
 
bonenut said:
thanks for the reply,i love the primare stuff,i also in a different room have the i30 and in my office i have the a10 with other primare cd players and fm radios.i did not realize that matching pre/power was that niggly.i only bought the exposure because it came up second hand fairly inexpensive and close.i tend to buy second hand in a close forum community in my area and like experimenting with gear and it would cost to much buying new.

To be frank you need to look at selling it on as it is obviously not very compatible. Stick it out until you can find a cheap Primare power amp. Glad you like their stuff, I loved it. ;-) says ex Pre 30 / A30.2 owner.
 

bonenut

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gonna try one more thing with it,i have a marantz hd dac and a audiolab mdac,both have pre amps,so going to hook them up and see the results.cheers.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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One question...

Why didn't you buy a Primare power amp in the first place?

Just interested to know as I'm considering a Primate setup if a couple of ships come in soon.
 
Benedict_Arnold said:
One question...

Why didn't you buy a Primare power amp in the first place?

Just interested to know as I'm considering a Primate setup if a couple of ships come in soon.

Primate? Must be a brand I've never heard of :) , or an autocorrect failure.

One of the best makes around at the moment for the money in my opinion.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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Al ears said:
One of the best makes around at the moment for the money in my opinion.

Seems to be so, though listening opportunities around here are non existent.

Wondering whether to go with tried and trusted Cyrus or Primate.

Speakers will be ProAcs, Spendors or Harbeths. In that order. Probably.
 

bonenut

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i was on a hunt in the second hand market and there was no primare's........one has come up in the last couple of day's,so i might go for that a30.2.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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bonenut said:
i was on a hunt in the second hand market and there was no primare's........one has come up in the last couple of day's,so i might go for that a30.2.

Good choice. But at 120 WPC into 8 ohms compared to 70 wpc out of your integrated.

If you're planning to bi amp you'll have to be careful not to overwhelm HF with LF or vice versa.

Maybe there's a gain knob you can adjust, I don't know.

Anyway, you could always buy two a30.2 power amps....
 
Benedict_Arnold said:
bonenut said:
i was on a hunt in the second hand market and there was no primare's........one has come up in the last couple of day's,so i might go for that a30.2.

Good choice. But at 120 WPC into 8 ohms compared to 70 wpc out of your integrated.

If you're planning to bi amp you'll have to be careful not to overwhelm HF with LF or vice versa.

Maybe there's a gain knob you can adjust, I don't know.

Anyway, you could always buy two a30.2 power amps....

Way to go!

Or you could buy it, sell the integrated, and buy a Primare stereo preamp. Just a thought like... ;-)
 
Al ears said:
Benedict_Arnold said:
One question...

Why didn't you buy a Primare power amp in the first place?

Just interested to know as I'm considering a Primate setup if a couple of ships come in soon.

Primate? Must be a brand I've never heard of :) , or an autocorrect failure.

One of the best makes around at the moment for the money in my opinion.
Or one of the best for the monkey, perhaps? (Sorry, I couldn't resist)
 

bonenut

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yes.the end result will be sell integrated(or find somewhere else for it)and buy a primare pre amp.i keep my eye out on the second hand markets and something will come up sooner or later.cheers.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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nopiano said:
Al ears said:
Benedict_Arnold said:
One question...

Why didn't you buy a Primare power amp in the first place?

Just interested to know as I'm considering a Primate setup if a couple of ships come in soon.

Primate? Must be a brand I've never heard of  :) , or an autocorrect failure.

One of the best makes around at the moment for the money in my opinion.
Or one of the best for the monkey, perhaps?  (Sorry, I couldn't resist)
They certainly don't go for peanuts and you'd be bananas to ignore the brand if you're looking at hi-fi in this price band...
 

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