Is upgrading pre worth it?

FWIW, I recently replaced my longtime solid state McIntosh preamplifier with a tube unit. For me, the change was epic. Please don't attack this statement as it is no reflection on McIntosh. I think everyone has an ideal image of what sound they want, and for me, the tube preamp makes it.

I tend to recognize more of a difference in preamps than amps in my setups. More detail specifically, maybe ’air’ as some define it.

I’m not doubting other’s opinions at all. But I know when I ended up with my first nice preamp, (nice to me) it changed my expectations regarding what was possible.

Much more refined and expensive gear than mine on here. In my case it was a preamp that retailed for around $2,500, but I really enjoy it.

Regards,
gary

kingdombuildingcon

Hi, your Rogue ST100 has an input impedance of 200kohms with an input sensitivity of just 1v in for full output.

These ST100 specs makes it a great candidate for a passive volume control, which will be the most transparent/dynamic way of getting your music from the source to the ST100.

Before you spend big bucks on an active preamp you should give this a go.
This a great value for a passive just $49 and you can return it if you wish.
http://schiit.com/products/sys

A Quote from the master Nelson Pass

 

Nelson Pass,

We’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more.

Think of it this way: If you are running your volume control down around 9 o’clock, you are actually throwing away signal level so that a subsequent gain stage can make it back up.

Routinely DIYers opt to make themselves a “passive preamp” - just an input selector and a volume control.

What could be better? Hardly any noise or distortion added by these simple passive parts. No feedback, no worrying about what type of capacitors – just musical perfection.

And yet there are guys out there who don’t care for the result. “It sucks the life out of the music”, is a commonly heard refrain (really - I’m being serious here!). Maybe they are reacting psychologically to the need to turn the volume control up compared to an active preamp.

Cheers George

I agree with the suggestion of a passive preamp.  I got a Creek OBH-22 Passive Preamp, primarily to use as a remote volume control.  But, it turned out to be quite a good preamp - incredibly transparent, clean, clear, detailed, dynamic, etc.  It just passes the signal on to the amp and speakers without any distortion.  

Hard to believe - but it seems to sound as good as my 40 times more expensive ARC Ref 5se active preamp in many respects - though, the ARC may have a bit better soundstage... not sure... it's so close.  

Of course most passive preamps are very simple (e.g. unbalanced interconnects, few sources, etc.), but the quality of the sound can be amazingly clean and clear.  

But... if you want the rich, warm, sound of a tube preamp (really distortion), then you won't find that in most passive preamps.

limniscate
18 posts
08-08-2016 3:39pm
In my experience, the amp makes a much bigger impact than the preamp. I was using an Outlaw 975 as my DAC and pre and then switched to an Odyssey Candela and Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC. There was a difference, but it wasn’t huge. I then "upgraded" my Odyssey Candela to an Aesthetix Calypso Signature, which is 4.6x more expensive than the Candela. I would not say that the Calypso is that much better.

However, when I upgraded my amp to a Sanders Magtech from Odyssey Kismet in Stratos monos, the difference was quite pronounced. I’m running Magnepan 3.7’s. YMMV

limniscate, i believe that you came to the conclusion you did because of the following - the Odyssey Kismet is not capable of driving your Maggie 3.7 because it just does not have the output current capability needed for this particular speaker. It was never intended to drive current hungry speakers like the Maggie 3.7 - no flaw in the Kismet amp; just an inappropriate amp-speaker match-up.
The Magtech OTOH is designed to drive ESL speakers + is excellent at driving planar speakers like the Maggie 3.7. The Magtech outputs 400 or 500W/ch compared to the 160W/ch for the Kismet. the Magtech is even higher current output than the Kismet - the Magtech has 10 output transistors for push current & 10 for pull current whereas the Kismet has 3 push & 3 pull, if i remember correctly.
The Maggie 3.7 are very current hungry - there is an Audioasylum member who is driving his Maggie 20.1 bass panel with a 2500W/ch class-D amplifier & he says that amplifier clips sometimes when the volume is turned up! This gives you an idea of what sort of current is required to get the best out of the larger Maggies. Not exactly the same speakers as yours but quite similar.
Now that you have the Magtech in there try swapping preamps to see if you can hear a bigger difference.....