The Best Preamp is no Preamp?

I have to agree with ghdprentice and phantom_av: the vast majority of the time, a great (tube) pre-amp is essential.

It really depends on what you have. We have tried to forego a pre-amp and go direct from Streamer (Linn Selekt DSM w/Kalayst DAC) to our Pass Labs monos. And while there were gains in resolution, it was not the type of resolution you want to actually LISTEN to--at least for more than a song or two.

The tube pre-amp gives us all the resolution of the direct method--that is: everything we heard going direct was there with the pre-amp. But here's the the trick: it was the pre-amp's arrangement and emphases of the frequencies and detail that made it both (audiophile-terminology alert!) musical/dynamic and cohesive (properly packaged with sounds in proper relation to each other).

Perhaps if we had the MSB Select or dCS Vivaldi+, we would have different results. But I really do not think so.

The gains in going direct are unbridled detail. But is that what audio systems are designed to do? Maybe a stethoscope is. But a MUSIC system is supposed to trick our brains into believing (coupled with our willing disbelief) that we are sitting I front of the live performance.

And that requires a tonal and dimensional consideration that a direct connection is usually incapable of delivering.

I'm feeding a CD player directly into my Sophia EL 34. Anything else comes in on an "Aux" input. It sounds glorious.

I agree with a 'less is more' approach but It could have been the Marantz holding your system performance back.

I just sent my Zesto Leto in for service.   That preamp sounds incredible, its getting the ESP Power Supply update that the new Ultra II has.    I have a Conrad Johnson Classic 2se and Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 ,  both of which are decent but the Zesto walks all over them.  The difference is so pronounced in my system its not even funny.   Preamp IS the most important component in the chain .

Intellectually, removing a piece of gear from the chain must remove distortion.

Yet, so many experienced audiophiles try passive and return to active preamps because they “sound better” in their systems.

Thus, the only explanation for this is that the brain “likes” certain types and amounts of distortion. A more complex topic is how distortion from different parts of the chain interact.