The future of preamps


I still use one, but I wonder if their days are numbered. To those who have removed the preamp from their system, have there been any regrets? Anyone gone back to using a preamp after having removed it?
psag
@ swampwalker, LOL!, I can see Almarg being an asset to us all, and called mr. spock!, we all need a mr.spock in this hobby!, thankyou for the introduction between us,I am not offended, there seemed to be a mis understanding here with what I was saying,I enjoy learning, no one knows it all, so far, I have not been corrected, misinterpreted, yes!, however, If I am wrong and corrected, I embrace it and enjoy being corrected, this is how I add to my exsperience, It would be quite foolish to do other wise!, I have never talked to you, good to meet you as well, I do require all of us to be gentleman, I do not believe someone is not a gentleman if they correct me or help me, and I hope all here does not believe if they do, they are not a gentleman, that is not the case for me, cheers.
@audiolabyrinth- Pleased to meet you as well. I just wanted to make sure it didn't come across as snarky; I'm glad it didn't. I'm gonna risk it again, however, and ask you to do us all a couple of favors:
1. get a new computer that actually has a "period" key. You know, the one in between the "," and the "/" ;-) You may have just set the record for the longest sentence ever posted on Audiogon:
Almarg, Can you look into this for me, the spec of 18 volts input to clip, this is the max input told to me over the phone by krell, you can do more of the math and engineering calcalating for me to find a explanation for me?, LOL!, I will never use over 10 volts to input anyway!, just currious to know my amp,, when I said that the 3.58 is the min that krell told me, they said that because all of their pre-amps put out around 6 to 8 volts for balanced operation, and this will not do nothing harmful to the krell 700cx, its the normal that I am told by krell if useing a krell pre-amp, regardless of the voltage input to drive the krell 700cx, I will not realize the power of this amp with out the speced gain you provided of the krell 700cx that a source direct to amp does not have, atleast I have not found a source with the gain I need to drive the krell 700cx, I enjoy the clarity a source direct to amp provides, but this is why I have said that the krell 700cx sounds to be half the volume its suppose to be, its still loud enough without the gain, LOL!, I just believe the amp will sound better with the appropriate db gain, do you believe that?, can you imagine the cost of a pre-amp that can do the clarity and realism a direct to amp source does with the gain I need?, thats a thought I do not like to entertain!, this is why I said, a pre-amp that would be to my liking would be very costly and you would have to provide more interconnects, in my case, very, very, exspensive, I use Taralabs zero gold, retail $14,500.00 new, around $5,000.00 to $8,000.00 used a meter balanced, yes, I bought My zero gold used, I am not that crazy to buy new, I do not agree with esoteric cabling pricing!, however, the I/C is worth what I paid used to me!, to keep the performance to my standards, I would want to buy another zero gold i/c for use with a pre-amp, there you have it, this entire conversation on this thread is a big deal to me$,, I have to be sure and carefull at the same time, this is why your input is most welcome to me, thankyou.

2. Seriously consider switching to decaf! My blood pressure went up to 249/135 just reading your post!!! If decaf doesn't float your boat, maybe some 'ludes???

All said w tongue firmly planted in check, I hope you understand.
Michael (Swampwalker) & Charles, thanks very much for the nice words.
12-14-13: Audiolabyrinth
Almarg, Can you look into this for me, the spec of 18 volts input to clip, this is the max input told to me over the phone by krell, you can do more of the math and engineering calcalating for me to find a explanation for me?, LOL!, I will never use over 10 volts to input anyway!, just currious to know my amp,, when I said that the 3.58 is the min that krell told me, they said that because all of their pre-amps put out around 6 to 8 volts for balanced operation, and this will not do nothing harmful to the krell 700cx, its the normal that I am told by krell if useing a krell pre-amp
Keith, the comments and calculations I already provided are based on a thorough look at the manual and the specs, so anything further I might add regarding the 18 volt number would be highly speculative.

A speculative guess that comes to mind, though, is that perhaps it represents how much voltage the input circuitry of the amp can tolerate without the possibility of damage when the amp is in standby mode, or is turned completely off, or both.

Regarding "their pre-amps put out around 6 to 8 volts for balanced operation," keep in mind that what any preamp puts out is dependent on the setting of the volume control, and on how much voltage is sent into the preamp by the source component, as well as on the gain of the particular preamp (preamp "gain" being the relation between its output and input voltages when the volume control is turned all the way up). So it's a bit misleading to speak of a preamp as putting out 6 to 8 volts, or any other particular number.

Also, as Ralph and I both indicated earlier, the MAXIMUM output voltage spec that is often provided for preamps should be (and usually is) much higher than the highest output voltage that the preamp would ever be called upon to put out under reasonable usage conditions.

Regards,
-- Al
@ Almarg, Hi, Thankyou very much, I have enjoyed your help, I know who to look up for all things audio now, I hope you do not mind if I ever needed some help, I may be able to ask you for it, Happy Holidays.
@ swampwalker, Hi, sorry my post did not meet your standards of puntuations, LOL!,, never knew I needed to be thorough!, It's ok, I do not care to be so thorough with posting on a thread, of course If I were writting a book to make money, I would care to do better!, You gave me a good laugh, I needed that, Happy Holidays to you.