BH preamp with Steremour?

denti alligator · 2783

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Offline denti alligator

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on: July 31, 2016, 02:40:26 PM
This may be a strange question, but has anyone used a BH preamp (Quickie, Smash, BeePre, Foreplay) with the Stereomour? I'm a bit surprised that I'm maxing out in volume when I play vinyl. (Yes, I wish I could jump on the Eros sale to get some extra volume in that area, but alas!) Digital is fine, since the volume is always louder there, anyway. But with vinyl, if it's a good mastering (not maxed out) then I can turn the Stereomour all the way up. Sounds great, but I can imagine on some days wanting to turn it a notch higher.


- Sam

Rega P3-24 (w/AT 150MLX) w/Groovetracer upgrades / Eros II / FLAC >J.River >DSD256 >Gustard X20 / Moreplay > Stereomour II / Klipsch Forte II w/Crites upgrades / C4S S.E.X. 2.0 +Nickel MQ Iron / Speedball Crack / Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas cable


Offline tsingle999

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Reply #1 on: July 31, 2016, 02:58:06 PM
I use a quickie or foreplay preamps at full volume after my reduction to get good listening levels.
I use it before my sr45's. It works much better than no preamp.

SGS iTransporter with Qobuz & Roon to Optical Rendu to BH DAC (Battery) / Wavelegth Cosecant to BeePre to 300b(ehemoths) to Jagers.
Bottlehead Stat headphone amp with Wavelength Brick DAC


Offline denti alligator

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Reply #2 on: July 31, 2016, 03:00:41 PM
So I could put the Quickie in in between my Seduction and Steremour to make up for the gain? I hadn't thought about that.

- Sam

Rega P3-24 (w/AT 150MLX) w/Groovetracer upgrades / Eros II / FLAC >J.River >DSD256 >Gustard X20 / Moreplay > Stereomour II / Klipsch Forte II w/Crites upgrades / C4S S.E.X. 2.0 +Nickel MQ Iron / Speedball Crack / Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas cable


Offline johnsonad

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Reply #3 on: July 31, 2016, 03:09:38 PM
It sounds like you need more gain in your phono stage. I have the same problem in my tape stage and added another gain stage between the Eros and the preamp.

If you can swing it, the Eros is a great phono stage and has decent gain depending on your cart and need.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2016, 04:38:33 PM by johnsonad »

Aaron Johnson


Offline tsingle999

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Reply #4 on: July 31, 2016, 04:29:57 PM
I am having a bit of the same problem. I am opting to buy the eros and sell the reduction. Between the sale of the reduction and the discount of the eros it helps make it an even better deal.

SGS iTransporter with Qobuz & Roon to Optical Rendu to BH DAC (Battery) / Wavelegth Cosecant to BeePre to 300b(ehemoths) to Jagers.
Bottlehead Stat headphone amp with Wavelength Brick DAC


Offline Rocketman248

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Reply #5 on: July 31, 2016, 06:18:01 PM
I was in the same boat as you and tsingle999.  I was using the Reduction w/Integration upgrade, and it just still wasn't enough gain with the Stereomour II.  Upgraded to the Eros, and I've been extremely happy ever since.

Nick DeBrita
Yokosuka, Japan


Offline denti alligator

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Reply #6 on: August 03, 2016, 01:07:37 PM
Well, now's the time to upgrade!!  ...but I don't have the money.  :'(

- Sam

Rega P3-24 (w/AT 150MLX) w/Groovetracer upgrades / Eros II / FLAC >J.River >DSD256 >Gustard X20 / Moreplay > Stereomour II / Klipsch Forte II w/Crites upgrades / C4S S.E.X. 2.0 +Nickel MQ Iron / Speedball Crack / Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas cable


Offline chard

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Reply #7 on: August 04, 2016, 01:23:44 AM
 Another approach is to replace your current cartridge with a higher output cartridge. If you have the integration upgrade, a cartridge that outputs 4mv or above should get you to the .4v input threshold of the Stereomour.     

Clifford Hard


Offline Deluk

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Reply #8 on: August 05, 2016, 01:16:13 AM
The AT 150MLX cartridge being used now goes have a 4mv output.



Offline denti alligator

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Reply #9 on: September 11, 2016, 02:23:19 PM
Back to my original question: is anyone using a BeePre (or other BH preamp) in front of their Stereomour? I'd love to know how that sounds?

- Sam

Rega P3-24 (w/AT 150MLX) w/Groovetracer upgrades / Eros II / FLAC >J.River >DSD256 >Gustard X20 / Moreplay > Stereomour II / Klipsch Forte II w/Crites upgrades / C4S S.E.X. 2.0 +Nickel MQ Iron / Speedball Crack / Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas cable


Offline Natural Sound

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Reply #10 on: September 12, 2016, 09:22:56 AM
I can answer this in a bit of a roundabout way. I don't have the same hardware configuration as you but I have something similar. First off I have Seduction phono preamp with C4S. Seduction + C4s and Reduction + Integration have similar gain specs of approx 40 dB. My main system is a Seduction plugged into a Foreplay III feeding a pair of Paramour II mono blocks. With this configuration I achieve volume levels that are more than I need. However when I plug the Seduction into my Stereomour II I have to max out the volume control like you describe. (I'm using an Ortofon 2M Bronze with an output of 4mV)

The Paramour II mono blocks and Stereomour II are similar in design. The main difference is that the Stereomour is an integrated design with a volume control. You can also think of the volume control as being a passive pre-amp." Which is a bit of a misnomer since a passive "pre-amp" has 0 dB gain.

Adding an "active pre-amp" such as the Bee-Pre or Smash etc. will add gain to the signal path to the Stereomour. If you try this I'd recommend turning the volume control on the Stereomour all the way up, effectively bypassing it. Then use the volume controls on the pre-amp to adjust system volume.

While I never tried it on my Stereomour I hooked my Seduction to my S.E.X. amp a while back. And the the volume was lower than what I wanted. So I put my FPIII in between the Seduction and S.E.X. amp and I never went more than 50 percent on the FPIII controls to achieve volume levels that exceeded my needs. And it sounded great too.

System gain can be a tricky thing. Too much or too little gain can be problematic. Finding the sweet spot takes a little experimentation in YOUR system.

So, the bottom line is this. Yes, adding a BH Pre-amp such as a Bee-Pre or Smash etc will recover the gain loss from the passive nature of the Stereomour. You will get an additional 8-10 dB of gain. And it my opinion it will sound great too. I hope this helps.



Offline Doc B.

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Reply #11 on: September 12, 2016, 09:32:38 AM
FPIII has way more gain than needed. A Quickie would be just about right to add a few dB in the gain chain - or a BeePre.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline denti alligator

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Reply #12 on: September 12, 2016, 02:43:13 PM
Well, I have a Quickie, which I've retired. Might as well bust it out and see what it sounds like between the Seduction and Stereomour. If course a BeePre would be especially sweet, and then I could eventually upgrade to Kaijus!

- Sam

Rega P3-24 (w/AT 150MLX) w/Groovetracer upgrades / Eros II / FLAC >J.River >DSD256 >Gustard X20 / Moreplay > Stereomour II / Klipsch Forte II w/Crites upgrades / C4S S.E.X. 2.0 +Nickel MQ Iron / Speedball Crack / Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas cable