High end stereo preamps? Worth it?

  It's really only jewelry! lol 
.  i get that all the time  when i drive my SS  next to a Mustang GT ..
 It's really only jewelry!

Hi-end preamps absolutely make a big difference. Sorry to inform you but I’ve found that a great preamp will sound much better than a very good preamp. Now the right question to ask, which are the great preamps.   You cannot go by price as that can be very
misleading. I personally found that the best way for me to find a top performing component was to ask die-hard friends of mine that been in this hobby for AT LEAST 30 YRS for their top picks. 

Ah the "great preamp vs no preamp" question.
So how can anything be better than zero distortion?  Its tough, but possible in one of three ways.

1. It adds a euphonic distortion that you like.. nothing wrong with this, its what a Piano's sounding board does.
2. Its gain allows other components to work within their ideal range
3. It provides needed impedance matching
So is not crazy, but in an otherwise well balanced and engineered system (huge caveat in real life) its a tall order
I use one. Of course i have prototypes stuffed everywhere :-)
G

Hi lowtubes, very interested in a few preamp tube refs. Thanks.



hi iitsjustme 
great comments of value not heard a lot and restores my faith that heavier spending will have a benefit.

The most direct connection from source to sound will give you the least distortion. Every time that I have simplified the signal path in my system, the sound has improved.Getting rid of an equalizer, simpler preamp, etc. 

If an integrated amp has the same circuitry as its separates, I can't see how it wouldn't sound better than separates of the same model level. You eliminate the interconnects.

If you're talking about a vinyl only system, the phono stage is more important than the preamp, which should be essentially a switching and volume box. I have heard of a phono stage that can be directly plugged into an amp with no other input options, It has a volume control on it with no remote. Simplicity and direct connection. I didn't want to spend that kind of investment (I think it's around $16K from Sutherland- which is what he uses), but that sounds like Utopia for a vinyl only guy like me.  

Is anyone aware of these types of components, and have you heard them, and are any available at a more reasonable price level?