Pre amps cost vs. value ... what I discovered last month.

Ah, a discussion close to my heart!

Couple things: firstly, I "hate" preamps. They go against all my audiophile religious sensibilities. I want transparency, detail, fidelity. Adding a component in between that really does nothing...yadda yadda. BUT, I also know it's needed. In the real world, maybe half of the stuff I have ever used doesn't benefit, or work better, going "passive". 

But the other thing, I believe as listeners, we get used to and accept coloration in components we have had years with or love for years. We just listen past it, listen through. Even a less resolving or capable component or system, if we can still hear differences swapping other components, we can still hear the more transparent components or more detail and such.

Brian, welcome. Very insightful, and appreciated from your point of view. I have been at this audio thing for almost 50 years, and was in the consumer audio industry ( NYC ). I knew many musicians, and spent some time in studios. Most of the equipment back then was analog ( really liked the Allen and Heath units, and some Yamahas ). Never saw tube amps in the studios to drive the monitors. Recently, I decided to modify an 80 wpc Yamaha pro amp ( of which I have several pro amps ), and since it has input level controls ( as all pro amps do ), I decided, for the 1st time ever, to go straight from my dac to the amplifier. Why haven’t I ever done this before ? Well, spending mucho dollars on preamps, and modifying many, I just assumed I needed the preamp. Well, to my surprise, I like what I am hearing. On certain discs, such as the Bob James " Cool ", " The Sheffield Drum Record ", M.D. " Kind of Blue " , and so many other wonderfully mastered pieces of music, I am hearing, so much more " life " to the performers, their instuments, their voices, and the 3 dimensional illusion of the space they are in. Even on Jethro Tull " Aqualung ", which imo is very compressed, I can hear more of everything. I have never been good with tubes ( rather than saying tubes have never been good to me), because I favored non coloration, dynamics, speed and detail, which I always favored good ss. I know the attributes of tubes, and owning horns, I have had many pieces in and out. But the noise levels, microphonics, colorations, and the lack of prat ( pace, rhythm and tempo ( with all the tube products " I " have owned and tried ), did not satisfy me. So, ow I am looking for a good passive unit, with multiple inputs, as there are many amplifiers in my stable without input level controls. Just my 2 cents. Enjoy ! MrD.

Actually, isnt most “audiophile” equipment overpriced for what you get inside the box anyway?  From what I understand, good studio equipment conducts, transfers, etc the sound with as little noise, distortion as possible. I never understood audiophiles knocking Outboard equalizers but look for components  ( even wires and cables) that have a certain sonic charater ( bright, warm, bass heavy, etc). Personally, i like neutral sound as close to the source as possible and I can add flavor ( eq, tone controls) as I see fit. 

Brian quick question. How do purchased Cd’s or dowloads sound on your studio system ( ones you did not produce)? 

In other words, would a great sounding album you purchased perform better in your studio vs a top home audiophile set up. 

Hi Brian, I just want to follow up on dynamic range. I agree that judicious use of compression can add some punch to an album and I know that bringing the bass up in the mix will reduce dr while possibly improving the sound of an album. But a steady blast of in your face sound like the Stones recent "Blue & Lonesome," dr 7 and an otherwise fine album, just gets tiresome.

Loudness in music, especially live, has gotten out of control and has led to hearing loss in musicians and people working in the recording industry. That may have something to do with why albums with wider dynamic range sound dull and old to you and the artists. Music that is too loud and has no dr hinders me from connecting with the artist. But I guess people like me are in the minority. I know this won’t change your mind, but I had to put a word in for more nuanced, less in your face music while I had the chance to speak to a real mastering engineer.