2. amps-preamps
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How much do I need to spend to get a preamp that sounds better than no preamp?

Hello all.
I'm using an Audible Illusions L1 preamp and I think my system sounds better when I remove it from the signal path. Oppo BD105 directly to SMC Audio DNA1 Gold power amp. I have read that there is level of quality you need to hit before there will be an improvement in sound. I can't seem to find what that level is. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
Ben
honashagen
Post removed 
mrdecibel
3,064 posts
 
George, I am not worried about a thing. Thank you for your concern. Enjoy !
bache's avatar
bache
523 posts
 
You right, the best preamp is passive, with no amplification, If you power
amp  get  good gain and speakers get enough sensitivity , Take a look
Alexus preamp 
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
bache
 Take a look
Alexus preamp  
Very nice, a little expensive.$995 
You get the same type of volume control in the $699 Freya from Schitt. Plus you can switch it from passive (as the Alexus is)  to two different active buffer modes with a little gain for some added colourations, tube or solid state. And it has rca and balanced. 
http://www.schiit.com/products/freya 

Cheers George
mitch2
4,007 posts
 
The $699 Freya from Schitt seems like an amazing bargain for the price.
If I didn't already have something great, and were on a tighter budget, I would definitely be interested.
For passives, the only one remaining that interests me is Townshend’s Allegri+ which uses autotransformers that are wound using Townshend’s own Fractal wire and coated in ultra thin Mu foil. Unfortunately, it does not match my system well since it is single-ended only.
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