2. amps-preamps
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How important is the pre-amp?

Hello all,

Genuine request here for other's experiences.

I get how power amps can make really significant changes to the sound of a system. And of course speakers have an even bigger effect. And then there is the complicated relationship between the speaker and power amp. But I wonder about pre-amps.

In theory a well designed preamp should just act as a source switch and volume control. But does it add (or ruin) magic? Can a pre-amp color the sound? Alter pace and timing? Could you take a great sounding system and spoil it with the wrong preamp? Stereophile once gushed (while reviewing a preamp that cost as much as a car) that the preamp was the heart of the system, setting the tone of everything. Really? Some people don't even bother with a preamp, feeding their DACs straight into the power amp. Others favor passive devices, things without power. If one can get a perfectly good $2K preamp, why bother with 20K?

What your experiences been?
128x128rols
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,915 posts
 
Noble is a good place to start…..


ghdprentice
7,047 posts
 
I agree that the death of the preamp is inevitable. But if I had to estimate when the shift would start with significant movement it would be twenty years. That would put it where the CD player is now… a few companies stop production… the ones that are future minded, most users are not yet aware that the age is over. Most people are not aware the world has changed until long after (check out the discussions of CD vs Streamer). But analog needs to die… Don’t see that soon. So that leaves a point maybe 25 years as a good transition point. Even if I was twenty five years old, I would buy a preamp.
sandthemall
544 posts
 
It’s about the size of the signal.
The signals from sources are very small and delicate...especially from turntables. Any sins committed here are, sorry for the pun... amplified.

This is why even the quality of the attenuator is so important in a preamp. This is why sound gets colored so easily.

A good preamp is so important. It took me a good while to understand this.
kellyp's avatar
kellyp
104 posts
 
Since you can drive your power amps directly, the preamp is only a buffer and input switch.  Therefore it can only degrade the sound.

However it is an opportunity to make the sound as colorful as you like. I guess people like that, and some like it alot.
avitacom
90 posts
 
For those of you who don’t need line level amplification (who don’t use a turntable) Marchand makes a high quality, battery powered passive “preamp” with motorized passive stepped resistor attenuator & remote plus selector.  The battety supply eliminates any noise that might be generated from a mains sourced power supply.  I have one of these and it works well.  It is no-frills, however—the cosmetics are adequate,IMO, but may not be adequate for some audiophiles for whom thick emgraved faceplates and that tupe of thing are important.
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