One last thing . I have had 30 pairs of speakers in the last 5 years and have noticed if a duller sounding speaker gets used with the passive it will sound dull . Add a active pre and that speaker wakes up a little . This might be why people prefer the active with their speakers . When Using a passive with higher energy speakers in the upper mids and treble and those speakers did not sound sterile or dull . All system dependent .
Should I eliminate my preamp?
I have been using my Audio Research tube preamp and Bryston amp to drive Magnepan speakers for years. Recently I added a Oppo blue ray player to my system and connected directly to my amp using the balance cables. The reason was to eliminate the signal having to go through another piece of equipment before it hits the amp. Am I wrong or what am I missing?
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I switched from using a DAC direct to my power amplifiers to a preamp and never looked back. The addition of a preamp substantially improved my sound quality st all levels. It was a “huge improvement”. However, as was stated above, it is possible that going direct maybe thd best but I do not know your system. All my testing proved to me that a preamp, in my system, produced the best sound by a huge margin. You might have to test some combinations in your system to see what you like. As as you can see from the above posts, everyone, it seems, has a different opinion. If possible, j suggest you demo with and without a preamp and see what you like. I did this testing and purchased a preamp. |
Looking at your very nice system https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/2186 Your D100 dac is no problem at 2v and 100ohms into the Lightspeed. And that at 2.5kohms using the 1mt of VH First at 61pF/mt is -3db at 1mhz!!. And your Belles Ref 150A needs only 1.4v in for full output at 100kohm input impedance which is no problem. Looking at all this you have a prefect match up I can't see how there can be a difference between 1m or 1/2m of the VH First??? Cheers George |
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