How important is the pre-amp?
If I have just a power amp hooked up I know you need one.Then it comes to tube or soild state.I have tried both and use many different brands.I still like switching things around. The point of this thread is ... no you don;t. But is it beneficial? You can use a DAC with volume control straight into your amp. Or a regular DAC with Roon and DSP based volume control. or ..... But as has been discussed extensively (read for the details that need not be lowed yet again) there are issues. |
The point of this thread is ... no you don;t. But is it beneficial? You can use a DAC with volume control straight into your amp. Or a regular DAC with Roon and DSP based volume control. or ..... But as has been discussed extensively (read for the details that need not be lowed yet again) there are issues.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agree DAC with vol controls, is not going to deliversame detailed sonics as a tube linestage. Just not...so we all agree here a linestage has significant impact on ultimate soundstage/presence, details. Some a nuance better than others. back to my formula. Amp /5% Linestage 5% Source 5%.. Tell ya what, I;'ll give the 3, 10% each, hows that, Im fair, and generous. That leaves the speaker brand a wopping 70% of the equation. Take the finest ever made amp, and linestage say Usegi's very best linestage and very best tube amp... The Usegi is still going to adopt the character of the speaker. The speaker voice is the wopping 70%. It would be a waste to run a Usegi's electronics through most of the speakers on this list. Just like i would not pair my amp with any speaker on this list. Just wouldn't. I did not work on my system past 3 yrs, to have it brought down to a speakers lousey voicing. Perhaps you might see your speaker on this list. If horns are there and WBers are there,,,my apologies. I've not looked through the entire list. Linestage are extremely important, but not when we havea speaker that is hadicaped and is adding unwanted things to the ultimate expression. https://mynewmicrophone.com/full-list-loudspeaker-studio-monitor-brands-manufacturers/ |
I didn't read most of the comments, but looked for a key word that seems to have been overlooked. IMPEDANCE. A preamp is the heart of the system. It receives musical signals from a variety of sources, often with widely varying output impedances. The preamp selects the input, manages volume and balance control and outputs the signal to the amp(s) with a single output impedance to drive the amp(s). Because the source devices can have a wide variety of output impedances, it is important for the preamp to have a high input impedance. And to drive a wide variety of amps including those poorly designed amps with low input impedance, it is important for the preamp to have a low output impedance. |
a key word that seems to have been overlooked. IMPEDANCE.Actually both MillerCarbon and I went into it. I did very specifically. And basically, yes, a hgih output Z and low input Z is a bad combination. Plus some (very long) cables may have some issues being driven by a high Z output Z due to capacitance. |
... should have continued. But a DAC **can** have a solid, low-output impedance. That doesn't mean they all do, or that they are all good ( the vast majority of chip opamps, sigh). So again, there is no right answer, no simple answer. You need to look into what you have, and evaluate if its lacking. Sorry, math. |
