the question posed has many legs: quality of gain control in the CD player; impedence matching between the CD and the amp(s); whether or not you also run analog sources such as tuner, vinyl, tape, etc. There are a growing number of components trying to address these needs. Some are doing a better job then others. Some separate DAC's now sport some pretty good volume controls which will mate well with virtually all power amps ... however then you also need a good transport. Furthermore you need to address the usage issue ... do you also need a good A to D converter for the aforementioned analog sources? So far there aren't many made and even those that are out there aren't as advanced as the one box CD/Pre-amp units available. [unless they're modded] Total the cost of separates versus one or two box units and balance that against what you're getting out to see if you're on the right path. Then there is the spousal acceptance factor ...
Won't preamps become obsolete?
I'm in the market for a new preamp because I want to upgrade from my Conrad Johnson PV10A. I listen mostly to vinyl but some CD and hopefully SACD some day so I need a preamp to integrate sources. As I look at the used preamp ads on A'gon, however, I notice more and more people saying that they are selling their preamp because they are going directly from a cd player with volume control into an amp. As vinyl wanes (never with me!) will the preamp follow suit or become more oriented towards integrating home theatre digital video and audio sources?
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- 32 posts total
- 32 posts total