Who needs a Preamp??

My amps sit by my speakers allowing for short speaker cables. I find with shorter speaker cables the system has greater resolution.

But I also find that having the front end of the system in an adjacent room also helps as there is less vibration (despite a custom stand and platforms)- which makes a difference to things like CD transports (less errors) and turntables (less coloration).


So my interconnect cables are 30 feet long. Obviously a passive can't do the job. I have tried them (in fact we used to make one 30 years ago) because it would be nice if things were simpler; more compact (although I'd have to have the system sitting between the speakers, which I don't like). But I find that there are colorations that don't exist when using the preamp. Particularly disturbing for me is the reduction in bass impact and dynamic contrast, a bit like a tone control. I don't get this effect with my preamp. I've played bass since the 7th grade so this bit has to be right for me or I'm unconvinced. People that don't like bass may find a passive to their liking.

  atmasphere
I'm unconvinced. People that don't like bass may find a passive to their liking.

What a crock of ****. You've really surpassed yourself with that one.

To the OP: Please save us and yourself the aggravation and do a search as this topic has been discussed ad nauseam. The discussion doesn’t usually end well as you can see. Thanks in advance.

@ atmasphere,
I have to agree with you on the bass. After using a passive for 9 years, I can say with experience, that bass is pretty light with a passive. My current preamp has a bass that the passive simply could not match. Dynamics is something that the current preamp has in spades. I loved the sound of my passive, but my current preamp is something else.