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?
128x128cdj123
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.
ckoffend
684 posts
 
Daverz, think of 2 cans with string connecting them. When the string is pulled tight and you talk into one can and listen to the other, the sound is more legible. Now take a few steps closer to the other person, the string sags. Now talk and listen again, it is more difficult to understand what the other person is saying. This is due to the loss of resolution, taken to the Nth degree, but still the same thing.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,754 posts
 
Daverz, on an analog control you will not hear much in the way of a loss of resolution. You may hear some colorations depending on the control and its position, but not a loss of resolution.
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