2. amps-preamps
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Best Preamp and Amp combination, interesting finding!!!

Hi all,

Yesterday, I decided to conduct a very interesting experience using my amp and preamp combinations. In the interest of fair discussion and also avoiding brand war, please allow me to conceal the name of the amps and preamps, knowing that both amps and preamps came from the same manufactures. The combinations are as below: 

Combination 1 (C1): $3000 preamp + $1000 amp
Combination 2 (C2): $1000 preamp + $3000 amp.

I went back and forth between C1 and C2 several times with multiple people, using the same speakers and DAC. The volume of both C1 and C2 was adjusted to be equal using my Db meter. 
At the end of the experience, almost everyone including me prefers C1. Which is a higher-end preamp combined with the lower-end amp. 
I was surprised by that finding. I always thought that the amp has a greater impact to sound quality, but my experiment proved otherwise. If you have any similar experiences, please let me know. I would like to understand why it happens that way. Why the preamp has a greater impact on the overall sound quality comparing to the amp?
128x128viethluu

Showing 2 responses by richopp

richopp
760 posts
 
Not taking a side on this one, but I do remember what a revelation the Audio Research SP-3 (and later the 3-A-1) was to the industry when it came out.  

We sold it for 595, then 695, then 795 pretty quickly.

Today, used ones go for many thousands--and they came out in 1977!

Cheers!
richopp
760 posts
 
@ sheridanmartinj

Interesting how that happens, right?

I remember getting the "A-1" parts from ARC in a small envelope and soldering them into the SP3's we sold.  I forget--4-6 parts, I think, but that may be wrong.  It was 1976-77 as I remember, so quite a while ago.

Anyway, that pre-amp kind of picked up what Saul Marantz had accomplished with his 7 and pushed the barriers to such an extent that I think, personally, it spawned a lot of work on pre-amps over the years.  

Today, there are many great pre-amps out there.  I cannot afford an SP3, but purchased an SP6 recently and it really made my Maggies come alive again after years of using a Luxman CL-32, which was not horrible, but ARC seems to have "the secret code" where pre-amps are concerned.

Cheers, and happy listening!
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