But I just bought a house so my new amp plans might be a long term thing... I ordered the Symphonic Line RG4mk4 mono
Mattheus, your long term plan materialised pretty quickly! Good for you. The RG4 monos are very good, btw. Quite probably among the best conventional (analogue PS) SS amps out there. You can keep these (I'm sorry I sold mine to get the class A model -- should have kept the 4s as well).
Using the Turbo on yr RG3 will lower noise floor and give better stability in reproducing dynamic content. In practise, it will sound as if the upper frequencies are more extended and that more energy "flows" consistently. It doesn't change the basic reproduction parametres of yr electronics. So, if the sound fm yr ceramiques becomes a tad strident at times, it's not yr preamp -- don;t worry. It's the modes of the ceramic drive units used in the speakers.
Yup... Siltech, thanks. Outrageously expensive as I recall. The sl ref cable is the one I used. Still have it fact and use it on a small TT as phono (not bad with a small signal, strangely enough).
A low capacitance single core diy based on jadem's model with 0,6mm wire (see jadem6 recent thread on diy cables)*. This replaces Nordost Valhalla which also gives an excellent electrical connection. The SL cable (green) was OK, but not spectacular, the top end being truncated. Other happy cable experiences include your Kubala & the expensive dutch "gold" wire who's name escapes me. Generally, you need a cable whose design favour top end extension... don;t worry about midbass energy not coming through.
*Please NOTE that I have negligible interference in my environment which allows me to use the "unshielded" diy without fear of oscillations etc. (the Kraft is "free"-bandwidth and goes up to 1MHz so, fast but dangerous with spurous noise).
Mattheus -- I think you'll find that in "normal" spl (say ~80-100dB) the sound will be less sharp, more quiet, and (strangely) more detailed. The dynamic content will be much improved (try listening to classical for example: you'll need to use the remote volume control because when the quiet passage is audible, the forte will be probably too loud for the room).
The small difference in power is negligible in normal operation.
BTW, don't worry too much about placing the turbo -- I had it off the rack, hidden, & on its side. But it seems to complete it definitively and the pre becomes clearly world class (and very expensive). So much is the sound improved that it would seem that the component was designed with the full PS in mind and the entry model is simply a cut-down version. On the impractical side, you have to keep the pre on all the time; for reasons I never understood (and never researched anyway) it takes about 72hours for the high frequency content to be completely acceptable. OTOH, it's one of the best active pre's I've heard.
What did you replace the SL with ?
I got a "Kraft" class A and control it with a transformer volume. So, I still use SL amplfication!
I HAD that combo (i.e. 5 years ago or s/thing) and did compare it to a Kraftwerk with 2 PS. Frankly, the combo was only slightly better BECAUSE the Kraftwerk gave a seemless sonic presentation and what was "missing" was inaudible -- so, it didn;t bother me too much. OTOH I always found the rg7 a spectacular commercial product: it's honest, hard-working, reliable, and energetic; its sonic attributes are far superior to any expectations (for example the critical 80-10kHz region is suberb). However it introduces one to what an outstanding sound can be like -- and, invariably, you end up looking for exactly the same amp but with a little bit more output power. If you are wealthy enough, keep the rg7. My old one (I sold it unfortunately) is still working flawlessly, now driving a horn system. Before it was driving some Kharma model. I've used it to test dynamic speakers, drivers, to drive e-stats...
Will sell my Kraftwerk, ordered RG3mk4 and RG7mk4 combo
Nice combo! BUT, prepare yourself for a further and very imminent investment: yr rg3 will become "turbo" & the rg7 will become monobloc (rg4?). Start preparing yrself psychologically:)! Cheers
