Any thoughts on removing a preamp from your system

After more than a decade of testing my system, I have now eliminated my de Havilland Mercury 2 preamp. My CD player - Audio Aero Capitole Ref SE seem to do a better job direct to my power amps. It is more natural, fluid, organic and delicate. The preamp added more liveliness, speed and scale but also made it more mechanical.

Herb --

Thanks for your comments. Your findings on by-passing the VTL preamp are interesting, and overall are impressions I share with the direct-route in my own, albeit different setup. It goes to show there are sonically very worthwhile combinations without a preamp, and that neither dynamics nor the sense of body and vitality are necessarily sacrificed - or so I find myself. Nonetheless keeping your VTL seems like a good idea.

With regard to the synergy mentioned I believe in getting it in place, as an outset, via as few components as possible. My speakers are 2-way (w/2 units per side) with a very simple cross-over (6/12dB); my Class-A poweramp (sporting a relatively simple topology) is non-balanced and built with few by very high quality components; I use no powerstrip but instead connects my DIY power cables conductor-direct via screw terminals (though not on the component side); no connectors are used on the speaker cables (solid-core silver/gold round wire and copper foils in single-wire parallel), etc. To reiterate: simplicity not for the sake of simplicity, but as an outset and maintained where it is sonically superior or at least the equal.

How is the testing with named components proceeding?

Hello Phusis.

Interesting synergy comments. I have not looked any further into simplifying my system other than the direct to amp configuration. I use two power conditioners mostly because I had experienced some low level hum, which has all but vanished with them in place. My mono amps are point-to-point wiring, and my speakers are a 3 way design. My speakers could, at 89db be more efficient for the low 20 watt Monoblocks, but I don't play my system at high volumes, so it all works.

The direct to amp did not work so well with my SS phono amp. I suspect the mono cartridge used in this configuration is the blame. It has always had very low level and tolerable hum. A condition common to the design according to the Japanese designer. But with the direct-to-amp setup the hum was remarkable. My preamp evidently helps control the noise level.

I did not try the SACD player because as you well know, digital signals will always need to be tamed. I figure the VTL preamp can only help in that setup.