CD player straight into amps?

I'm in Tvads camp,there is definitely "something missing" without a pre in the chain.This opinion is solely based on experiences with my system and my musical tastes.

I have been an active preamp guy forever, but I have recently been experimenting with the Promitheus Audio Reference Dual-Box TVC for use in a second system. I have been playing with this little point-to-point hand-wired passive pre in my reference system while I am waiting to fully assemble this second system, and the quality and transparency of this inexpensive component have been a real eye-opener. (This thing plays WAY out of its price league.)

I think a high quality TVC like the reference version of the Promitheus component is a great alternative to a traditional active pre if you have high quality source components and the input sensitivity on your amplifier is compatible. A TVC can give you all the transparency of a direct connection between your CDP and amplifier. It is potentially a better alternative than a direct connection if the volume control on your CDP is not first rate or if the additional current and alternative input/output impedances offered by the TVC prove to be a better way to drive your cables, preserve dynamics and overcome some of the other drawbacks often associated with the elimination of a preamp or the use of a resistor-based passive.

Back in the 70s we were buying those receivers with all of those buttons which allowed us to 'enhance' our music any way we wanted. The ultimate button being the "loudness" switch.

So when I got my Audio Aero Capitole CD player with volume control I at first couldn't resist running it through a pre as I couldn't imagine not getting my music "my way'.

It did not take me long to scrap the pre as the CD player was giving me the music much as the engineer had mixed it. The biggest shock was just how poorly some CDs are engineered. I now pay more attention to the label and I avoid the cheaper compilation CDs. It took the removal of my pre to appreciate this.

My results exploring the no preamp theory have varied dependant upon whether I or the preamp did a better job of getting the signal across. My initially attempts were pretty poor, running preampless produced a thin, anemic effect. Reinserted the preamp was better. After researching ways to get the signal across better, I reconfigure my system following the passive guidelines. This time, eliminating the same preamp (that was needed before) produced amazing results in favor of no preamp. Without the preamp - things were not only cleaner, but much more information was coming through. The increase in transparency and / or decrease in noise, distortions, veiling, congestion, etc, allowed me to hear sounds that I couldn’t quite make out or even knew existed before. Those sayings of “eliminating veils” or “peeling away layers of onion” sound dumb, but that’s what I heard. The amount of details being subtracted, lost, masked, etc by reinserting the preamp was an epiphany.

While having no volume control in the loop is dangerous and unpractical, it tells me exactly what my system is capable of. I don’t know of a better way to figure out what a preamp is doing (whether it’s contributing or subtracting) than to compare its’ inclusion against nothing. With the exception of somesort of volume control, my system is pretty much able to stand on it’s own.

Thus far, I’ve found –
· No preamp is better than many, but maynot be the best solution for me. Improving dynamics, increasing soundstage, fleshing out harmonics, etc would be extra gravy.
· Passive preamps excel at preserving what I’ve obtain - if dialed in properly with shorter interconnects, a cd player with the right output voltage and output impedance to match the amp.
· Actives preamps, particuliarly tube stages can impart that extra gravy, but can also commit sins of ommision and / or introduce noise, veiling, grunge, distortions, etc. The ones further up the food chain seem to be able to preserve as well as contribute something more, but I still can detect at least to some degree the anomolies of the extra active circuitry.

>>> Dopogue
With my Raysonic CD128, my one experience running it into a passive linestage was pretty disconcerting. Sounded thin and threadbare, very much unlike the way the Raysonic should sound. <<<

Also owning the Raysonic, I got similar results when running straight through to my monos (Triode TRV-300Bs) which have their own volume control. Inserting the matching pre (Triode TRV4-SE LE) pre back brought back the texture/nuance and sounstage depth and width. YMMV.

Cheers,
Garry