DAC to Amps bypassing preamp: Opinions please

But how can putting an extra piece of equipment between the DAC and the amp possibly improve the sound?? The signal coming from the DAC is as pure and unadulterated as it is going to get. Everything else after that - cables, amp, speakers - is in some way introducing various distortions/changes to the original signal - even if ever so slightly. So how can another piece in the chain help? Now I do't mean for any of this to sound argumentative, I have been surprised before in this hobby where something that I didn't think could make a difference really did, so I am not challenging the idea, just asking about it.

Preamps can compensate for impedance mismatches and other things. I ran a dCS stack into an ARC VT-100 Mk III and--even though the dCS purports to be preamp-like and the impedances were within tolerances, it seemed lifeless. I put a preamp in between and the slam and vitality of the system came back. May simply depend upon the electronics, but I can attest that a preamp is a good thing in my system.

I'm with you, Studioray -- it doesn't make sense. And yet I can attest to having had the same experience as Eric at times.

A preamp has always sounded better in my system. This is playing with any top CD player with great analog volumes including a Opus 21, AA Capitole, Muse Thalia and Quad unit. Each and every time without fail a preamp was needed to get more dynamics, full and weightly sound and tighter bass. A ood pre is a must based on my experience and much if it :-)

Sure it will sound good without, but when you get around to putting in a good pre you will wonder why you waited so long.

Bill

the only plus going direct is the money savings that could go elsewhere in your system. A good pre that fits your taste is allways going to be more fun to listen to than a passive-allways(keeping the rest of the system the same). its the tradeoff of having something else in your system that is going to be better and the feelings of knowing that in your brain- ie. 7 thousand dollar better speakers for example that you will need to decide which you want more. to do a fair comparison you must keep the total dollar vallue of your system the same. Otherwise price becomes a deciding issue which is why so many people think they prefer passive in the first place. They drop a passive into their system and change nothing else- boy that sounds great! But any comparison that changes the total cost of your system is not a fair comparison at all.