Pre-amp to receiver?

saitta22,

I suspect you have not gotten an answer yet because it is difficult to understand how you have everything connected. Please explain again how you have this connected. You might just want to list the components you have and ask how to connect them for best sound quality.

Is this what you have:

CD Player
Dynaco Pre-Amp
Optimus Receiver
Speaker pair

If this is what you have, there is no need for the Dynaco pre-amp. You are simply sticking something into the chain that provides no value. You've injected additional circuitry and an additional volume control that provides no benefit and potentially degrades the sound. Since your receiver does not have an "amp-in" input to bypass all of the receiver's pre-amp circuity from the mix, there is no reason to use the Dynaco pre-amp.

Based on my interpretation of your setup, I suggest you set it up like this:

CD player (line out) -> Optimus receiver (CD line input) -> )receiver's L&R A/front speaker outputs) Spkeakers 

Reubent

first of all, thanks for taking the time to respond...my explanation was indeed confounding and anyone who took a peek just blew it by.

what i was  doing , was inserting the preamp between the CD player and the receiver ( receiver did not have a bypass for its built in preamp) and then also hooking the receiver speaker OUT to the preamp IN and controlling the tone, volume, balance using the preamp and receiver controls...I know this defies rational audio behavior but somehow it worked...for instance on Kinks "village green preservation society" which always sounded disappointing on my entry level audio, now suddenly the soundstage opened up and the imaging revealed instruments that heretofore seemed hidden...
the same on other CDs..

i fool around with the controls of both the dynaco PAT 5 preamp and the Optimus STAV 3000 receiver .  the rest of the set up is a Denon CD changer DCM 370 and usie a pair of NHT zeroes and BIC venturi 620s

once again, thanks so much responding. By the way, i am looking for used audiophile speakers... i went to a audiophile store recently to hear what high end sounded like and was blown away by the totem hawks  so i am looking for something similar   but used at a more affordable price...say about $700-$1000...it seems almost impossible to outbid people on ebay or even know what a steal is. Apparently everyone uses the shark, craiglist, ebay to find listings.

I  prefer to look locally  so i can audition and  save on shipping..do you know of any  other sites that may list vintage audio  lthat is not on the shark ( thereby competing with the cognoscenti on ebay craiglist audiogon, etc) .)?

i would also really like to know good articles or sources of information on good vintage speaker buys.

See, All good deeds are punished.

but thanks for the time...you've got a generous heart

....should be , no good deed goes unpunished

Sorry, I still don't understand how you have your system connected. You said " and then also hooking the receiver speaker OUT to the preamp IN". This does not make sense to me. Speaker outputs use speaker cable and pre-amp IN is a line-level connection and would use an RCA interconnect cable. The way you have written it does not make logical sense. 

BTW, do you need a receiver (pre-amp, amplifier and tuner in one box) or do you really only need a power amp? Since you like the sound using the tone controls in the Dynaco pre-amp, can you replace the Optimus receiver with a power amp? Would probably sound better and would be more straight forward.

Regarding vintage speakers, you will often find great vintage Infinity speakers, like Infinity Qb or RSb for less than $200. I also see a couple of pair of Vandersteen Model 1 or 1b locally for $225-$250. These are great speakers for that money if they are in good working condition.

reubent,

sorry to belabor this....thanks for hanging in there.

if you google images for the dynaco pat 5 and look at the back panel, you will see speaker terminals labeled "amplifier" (also two sets of terminals labeled speaker which i assume  connect to the speakers themselves)...I assume that the speaker wires from the Optimus receiver( or an Amp) are attached  the Amp terminals on the Dynaco Pat 5...what else would it be for?
i have the same situation with my McIntosh  C 26   where the connection from an Amp to the Mac  is by speaker wire...I guess the MaC or dynaco Preamp connects between source and amp to massage the  source signal  and then the output of the amp connects to the Dynaco  via the Dynaco AMP speaker terminals by speaker wire. I always thought this was bizarre---i thought it would be by some type of RCA plug.

The speakers themselves are connected to the speaker out terminals on the Dynaco preamp.


I saw a listing for rectilinear III high recently for under $100...any opinion?

... your kindness transcends audio...