Ifi Preamps Repeatedly Dying

[Baldchap]

We inherited a complicated setup with our house when we bought it that is completely integrated into the house so will stay as long as it's practical to retain it. It's apparently a great setup and the previous owner spent a huge amount of money installing it.

My issue is that there is a device like that in the link below that basically functions as our way of getting a sound source into the whole shebang. They seem to last 12 months (or just over) and then die. Am I doing something wrong or would you expect these things to burn out in that time? We're awaiting delivery of our third one today so we can play Christmas music throughout the house tomorrow.

I notice it's always pretty hot, is this a sign I'm using it wrong?

Currently, the power light is no longer illuminated and it does nothing.

Any suggestions with any of the above?


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01N8VSFCM?ref=pp...

[blindspot]

That's a valve preamp that you're using. It will get hot, and the valve has a finite lifespan. Couple of possibilities - it may be getting overly hot, or if you're leaving it on permanently the valve may just be reaching end of life (5 to 10k hours).

It may be that the valve is user-replaceable, which would be cheaper than replacing the preamp.

There's no reason you have to keep using a tube amp, and there's loads of alternatives out there. If you go solid-state it should run much cooler, and hopefully last longer.

If you can expand on what the rest of the system is, and what sources you'd like to connect to it, people can make sensible (and inevitably wildly expensive and unreliable) suggestions.

[Tony1963]

As above, plus, is the system enclosed with little/no ventilation?

I really wouldn’t want to run a valve system for anything other than a single room hifi, and only turn it on to warm up and use.

[Baldchap]

Thanks blindspot, a photo isn't playing but the setup is as follows:

One Yamaha MTX5-D
https://www.yamaha.com/en/about/innovation/collect...

Two Yamaha XMV8140
https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/proaudio/power_a...

The house is then networked in such a way that every TV and all the speaker stuff is linked to this kit, including a Dolby Atmos 18 speaker setup in a cinema room. Each room then has controls over whether we use TV or Music (or both) and at what volume etc. It works well, but feels like huge overkill for a house.

We then have a laptop that has Spotify and NAS access plugged in via the preamp that has blown. There's an input in a different room that we can plug an additional input into but it only plays in that room.

It sounds like, long term, the answer is to use a solid state device that won't go pop every year. All the other stuff, I need to get manuals for and work out how to get the most from them, I guess.

Thanks for the advice.

[Baldchap]

Tony1963 said:

As above, plus, is the system enclosed with little/no ventilation?

I really wouldn’t want to run a valve system for anything other than a single room hifi, and only turn it on to warm up and use.

It's in a smallish room/cupboard but I have hard wired a couple of fans that vent directly outside. It doesn't get mega hot in there since I did this (house has air conditioning so the draw into the 'tech cupboard' is cool in summer), but it is always fairly warm in there.

Re: Your second paragraph, can you explain in words no longer than one syllable what you mean?

Edited by Baldchap on Tuesday 24th December 14:37

[blindspot]

Sounds like plugging in a preamp is the wrong answer - I’d have a chat with a commercial installer familiar with these things. A quick google suggests that there are input expanders available, which would then mean access/control from any of the zones. A preamp just switches between sources and attemuates the output signal - your yamaha black magic box already does volume control, room eq and lots of other clever stuff.

[The_Burg]

The preamp referenced seems to be some sort of weird effects type box. I had to double take on the price as i assumed £39.99.
Some ones making big bucks at £399.

This will do what you need and almost certainly sound better. It can't get hot as it's passive.

In fact i would probably suggest you don't need a preamp at all as the volume is presumably controlled by a remote.

Disconnect the old box and plug straight in, total cost sod all.

[blindspot]

Bit more of a look around. As above, in this application, I can’t see what use the preamp is.

Assuming that it is the one linked in your OP, you’ve got a line level output from the laptop (probably 3.5mm to rca?) into the pre, then rca into the yamaha box of tricks which is a line level input.

So all the preamp is doing is providing a third volume control (laptop has one and so does the yamaha kit) and adding some nice valvey distortion.

You could just plug the laptop directly into the yamaha kit - provided my assumptions above are correct.

A more elegant approach would be to use one of the digital inputs on the yamaha, as it’s got 16 it seems medium unlikely you’ve used them all, but that will require a bit of work in config - seems that thismisma simple gui sort of an effort.

A more elegant approach might be to add a yamaha streamer which will allow Tidal, spotify etc as well as access to music on your network. Np-s303 looks handy for a couple of hundred quid.

[Baldchap]

Thanks all. I get the impression from reading around that the preamp is a 'hifi thing' that you fit when you've got nothing else to waste money on. Apparently it 'broadens the sound stage'. . I fiddled with the switches and it does make the sound different, to be fair.

I like the sound of getting rid (when the replacement I have already bought dies) and lobbing one of those streamer gizmos in rather than the laptop.