9 series pre-amps

[JonJeffman]

Hi there,
I'm putting together a used 2-Ch system, and bought a RC-970BX MkII pre-amp. Now someone selling the RB-991 amp I want, wants to sell it along with a RC-990BX pre-amp.

So my question is will the RC-990 be an upgrade over the RC-970 I bought, considering that I don't need phono or really care about a remote? I know the 990 sold for a lot more initially, but how much of that $ was for the phono & remote? Will I actually hear a difference playing CD's?

Also, any reason why the 990 doesn't have any tone controls? I know that ideally a pre-amp is transparent, but since you can turn the tone controls off on the 970, it seems odd they'd remove features on the higher end models?

Thanks,

[wkhanna]

Hi Jon, & welcome to the forum!

You have two V good questions. Unfortunately, I have no answers based on direct experience with the pre’s you are asking about. What I do know is that the original MSRP price difference between the two was significant, and in my estimation more than would be expected to offset the additional cost of adding the phono section. I would expect a significant improvement to be realized with the 990.

AFA the issue of tone controls, or lack thereof; you have addressed one of the primary conundrums in the world of hifi. There are two camps of thought on this subject. One says that the original recording must be preserved, along with any deficiencies, as a matter of holding forth and honoring the intent of the artists and producers. On the opposite side of the debate is the stance that it should ultimately be up to the end user to determine what was intended and ultimately is heard.

The choice is a personal one and can be made based not only on your own philosophy but also on the ultimate capabilities of your system.

From my own experience, I have found that the better the resolution within a given system, the less likely any additional EQ’ing is desired.

[thezone]

From my own experience, I have found that the better the resolution within a given system, the less likely any additional EQ’ing is desired.

Touche wkhanna, couldnt have said it better myself. No good can come from messing with eq's in home hi-fi.

[bigburner]

AFA the issue of tone controls, or lack thereof; you have addressed one of the primary conundrums in the world of hifi. There are two camps of thought on this subject. One says that the original recording must be preserved, along with any deficiencies, as a matter of holding forth and honoring the intent of the artists and producers. On the opposite side of the debate is the stance that it should ultimately be up to the end user to determine what was intended and ultimately is heard.

The choice is a personal one and can be made based not only on your own philosophy but also on the ultimate capabilities of your system.

JonJeffman, the solution is to get a preamp with tone controls and a defeat button for those controls so you can have choice and flexibility, and maintain audiophile purity when the need arises.

Nigel.

[wkhanna]

JonJeffman, the solution is to get a preamp with tone controls and a defeat button for those controls so you can have choice and flexibility, and maintain audiophile purity when the need arises.

Nigel.

That is definitely one solution, and BTW, describes exactly how I have my system configured. I especially cherish the fact the ‘tone defeat’ is a true bypass. The problem is finding such features on late model pre’s. My Carver C-19 may be considered a relic by many standards, but it provides features along with the requisite high level of transparency I consider essential, including that rare and thought to be extinct creature, the ‘MONO’ button. Having the Mono allows for easy assessment of channel balance when setting up and aligning cartridges on my turn table. It also improves the sound quality when playing mono LPs while still using a stereo cart.