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To Pre or not to Pre? Here is my take

I remember reading in many places that the best preamp was no preamp.
Finally in a position to test that theory
Equipment is Esoteric sa-50 player, audio research ls preamp, bat vk600 power amp.
So I let everything warm up for an hour or so and then played some Halestorm through the system, for anybody who is not familiar with Mz. Hale, she is similar to a smoother Bonnie Tyler with more range! Her band has some great bass guitar and drum work as well so a nice little workout.
After 5 or 6 tracks I changed over to powering the bat direct from the esoteric using the same cardas xlr interconnects.
It only took a couple of tracks to confirm
I just did not like this sound, bass was much thinner, soundstage not as wide, vocals not as smokey for want of a better description of Mz. Hales style.
Hooked the ls2 back and joy was restored!

What does this tell me?
That absolutely the ls preamp is adding its own sonic signature to the mix, in theory that equates to probably a more "dirty" sound but to me this was the sound I preferred.
Now obviously no 2 people listening to the same gear are going to hear the same thing, its impossible!
However playing MY music on MY gear the sound going through the ls2 preamp was the sound that I wanted to hear, end of story.
Oh trust me its not just value perception, I sort of WANTED the sound to be better without the ls2 preamp as I could have then sold it and spent the money elsewhere! 
I know there will be lots of people who can spout theories to prove I am full of it but the only judge of the sound of your own system worth worrying about is yourself!
128x128uberwaltz
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
George, the perfect recording has not been made yet and probably won’t be made in our lifetimes
I like to hear my best recordings as they come from the dac, and if the bad ones don't sound so good, so be it, at least I'm not colouring both.


If no preamp works for you, great, but active preamps may work better for some others. In fact, I’m sure they can.
 Like I said before, some may like a certain colouration a preamp gives to their system. And that they all sound different. It's up to the owner/buyer of a preamp to get the one with the right colouration to address their problem.
I myself like to address the problem directly and fix it, without the need to hunt for the right preamp to colour the problem.
 
None sound like a straight piece of wire, otherwise all would sound the same as going direct.

Cheers George

 
phd
1,324 posts
 
Of course an active preamp will alter the sound one way or another and if you prefer the sound your preamp produces then go with it. The lead Tech at PS Audio used to advocate the use of passive preamps for years and just recently reversed his conclusion in favor of active preamps. But keep in mind that some quality amps have a higher input gain that makes them an ideal companion for a passive preamp or a direct connection, delivering excellent dynamics, mids, and highs
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
"...and one passive preamp to rule them all....."
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I have found that using my Audio Research LS27 tube preamp in my system, everything sounds much better.  I have found that using a top quality tube preamp is the single most significant important part of an audio system other than the speaker system and audio source itself.  And for them to work to their finest, again the tube preamp can make it all come together.  I previously had an Ayre K1xe and it could not even come close to my Audio Research LS27.  Even on television audio it makes a huge difference.  Just hearing the human voice it is so much more enjoyble sound.  Also I have an Rega Osiris integrated, and again it can not compete.  Also I am only using an Odyssey Khartago amplifier with my LS27-on high gain it seems much more powerful.  Also using the monitor output of the LS27 to a Stax headphone system,it is again quite apparent that an audio source will sound much superior if run thru my LS27 rather than directly from audio source to the Stax system itself.  So it is obvious to myself how a true quality tube preamp is the way to go.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
There is no preamp which sounds as good as no preamp. It is add by subtraction. , I have Audio Flight and Custom Tube [Magic] pre amps and both are very good but neither are as unforced or clean as my Townsend passive. If you will check the HiFi Critic site I believe that it was the highest rated component of any kind that they have tested. These are of course my ides and you can have your own. I will forgive you if you do! [humor]

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