High end stereo preamps? Worth it?

@georgehifi 
You have made us all aware of your opinion on the subject of preamps but I thought the readers here might benefit from seeing the whole Nelson Pass quote.
Mr. Pass apparently believes there is sometimes a need for a preamp or buffer, for the reasons he stated in the quote, or simply because some people believe it sounds better with a preamp in their system.
I get that Pass is a businessman but he is also somebody who has never been afraid to march to the beat of his own drum so I do not buy that the only reason he designs and manufactures preamps is for people who want glitz.  I doubt he would manufacture the $17,500 XP-32 three-chassis reference preamp if he didn't believe it added something positive to the sound of his amplifiers in more than 1 percent of systems.
I have no interest in a technical debate as my observations on the subject were already posted on this thread on October 25, at 12:02pm. 

Mr. Pass apparently believes there is sometimes a need for a preamp

Yes, and I've also said this, as I said in my second last post when the impedances are mismatched, but I also said 99% of the time this is not an issue. 

 

I doubt he would manufacture the $17,500 XP-32 three-chassis reference preamp if he didn't believe it added something

It can only add coloration/distortion to the sound of the source, I ask you why not hear what the sound of the source is by going direct, then if you don't like it, don't spend $17k to color/distort it. Change it for a better source.
Quote: Ivor Tifenbrun (Linn LP12)
"It all starts at the source get that right and the rest is going to follow"
And I'll add to that get it wrong, and you chase your tail looking for the right preamp to color the problem, as they all sound different.       

I have no interest in a technical debate

Say no more

This threat is unneccesarily long: assuming no highly unusual impedance miss match there is no conceivable reason for a separate preamp in a digital reproduction chain: additional cabling and circuits for no gain (pardon the pun)

This thread is unnecessarily long: assuming no highly unusual impedance miss match there is no conceivable reason for a separate preamp in a digital reproduction chain: additional cabling and circuits for no gain (pardon the pun)

How true, but it’s like talking to the deaf, but there are those that feel the need to color their sound with an expensive bandaid fix by adding a preamp with their added coloration/distortions, because there’s something else they don’t like in their systems when it goes direct from source to poweramp with no preamp. They may as well buy a 4 way tone control like the Schiit Loki. https://www.schiit.com/products/loki

Cheers George