The future of preamps

Audiolabyrinth --

Hi, no my source (direct to poweramp) is 24-bit as described in reply no. 3 from above. I would gladly convert to a 32-bit source and digital volume control if it really meant providing that extra last "ounce" of insight, clarity, resolution, organic quality or whatever to the sonic presentation (most notably perhaps at lower volumes), and it is only a matter of time when this occurs rather than "if." Until this happens there is much to treasure with a (24-bit sourced) dithered volume control a la JRiver MC19. Several who have listened to my setup have - without in any way being lead by me to this observation - noted very positively the level of clarity, information, and "ingition" at lower levels, though I believe this could be an affect of the use of a compression driver with waveguide as well. Still, had the digital volume control here used been a limiting factor at especially lower levels it remains questionable whether reports of the very opposite had flourished as they did. It is not, as you can deduce from above, that I believe 24-bit sourced dithered digital volume controls to be flawless, but they are, many things being equal, extremely capable. And when a 32-bit source is finally implemented, bit depth and any associated thought of truncation would not be my concern at all.

I often wonder if labyrinth is simply a computer generated clown here for grins and giggles.
If so, it works.

Hi all,

I find this thread so interesting, especially amongst such exalted company, that I would humbly chime in with my two cents.
I guess the proof is always in the pudding, and of course, in this hobby, listening. I have always thought that running a digital source direct to amp should give the highest level of transparency and sonic quality. With my player having a 32-bit digital volume control, even running it at sub-max volume, a truncation of bits would not degrade the sound much as there is indeed too much headroom from 32 to say, a 24 bit digital volume level.
But, I am just curious after following many forum threads that espouse the use of an analog preamp to the betterment of overall sound quality. So when I had an opportunity to audition a high-end analog preamp at home, I was flabbergasted to find how much, much more I had been missing in the past sans analog preamp.
So, whatever the math, the ears have the final say - Aye, my analog preamp is staying for good.
Cheers!
Jon.

Jon,
Good post and you're just another example of why we have to actually listen and decide. I on general principle prefer the simpler path when it involves audio. In this regard I should strongly lean toward a direct source-amplifier approach or use a passive line stage- volume control. There's one problem however, when I listen it's undeniable that the high quality active line stages(certainly not all preamps can do this) sound better and provide more realism. They have the ability to apparently preserve more musical information, tone and nuance that's missing when these components are absent in the system. They IMO present a far more developed and "complete" sound. Leaner and thinner sound character doesn't= detail and transparency, just an inadequate ability to convey all of the audio signal intact.

I'm a bit confounded why it would be implicitly, and quite arrogantly assumed I'm not using my ears when stating the above; I most certainly base my findings on actual listening impressions, and there's nothing in the slightest anemic/thin/lean/unemotional or what else that robs my sonic experience from an organic, coherent, and effortless presentation through my setup without a hardware preamp. I have heard MANY setups, some of them extremely expensive (>$100,000), using hardware preamps (both solid state and tubes), and through a not insignificant number of these what has struck was: a malnourished, too soft presentation that furthermore lacked coherency and dynamic impact. I'm guessing this has less to do with the fact that hardware preamps were used here than the speakers used, and other combined factors. What I'm actually saying is also that the oftentimes prejudiced stance that 24-bit digital volume controls are marred by truncation effects is blown out of proportion, and that ACTUAL LISTENING has told me and my ears something very different. Perhaps there's much more in store for me with the addition of a hardware preamp, but until such (listening-)experience would tell me so I'm trusting my ears damn well enough to know that it sounds great without one.