2. amps-preamps
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Is no preamp the best preamp of all?

As an experiment I hooked up my OPPO BDP-95 (which has a volume control) directly to my amp. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear a significant improvement in clarity and sound quality. Typically I have the analog outputs on the OPPO running through my preamp in Analog Direct. I have heard that the circuitry within preamps can cause cross-talk in the analog signal, deteriorating the quality of the signal. So, would having no preamp (and therefore no other circuits to interfere with the signal) be better than an expensive analog or digital preamp running in Analog Direct? I am not really interested in Room Correction or DSP of any kind. I was considering purchasing a Bel Canto PRe6 (which I've read is excellent for multichannel analog), but would it be better to just have the OPPO running directly to the power amp?
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rgs92
974 posts
 
IME, a good tube preamp adds a nice texture that I can't live without.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,249 posts
 
I agree with jdoris, there are`nt any rules. It`s just personal trial and error for a given system. In my case I prefer a very high quality active preamp.
levy03
442 posts
 
i really tried hard to go without a pre. in the end, my gear sounded better with one. however, many of the pre's i tried didn't sound better. without trying them out...i never would have known.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,754 posts
 
Daverz, usually the problem with digital volume controls occurs when you drop the volume below about 75-85% of full volume, heard as a loss of resolution.

To get around this problem many CD players actually have analog controls (which quite often is a chip) supplemented with digital displays.
daverz
487 posts
 
What does 75-85% translate to in terms of dB?

I'm aware that I'm losing information when I use digital attenuation, but how does this translate into what one hears that is different that what one hears when an analog volume is lowered. Saying that one "loses resolution" is not really telling me anything as I don't know how a "loss of resolution" sounds different from just a lower volume.
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