can I drive Firstwatt amps directly from the source?
I like the purity I hear running this way.
Yes agreed, nothing competes with direct source to amp if it’s possible, for purity, dynamics, no coloration, and the minimal amount of noise, compared to having an active preamp in circuit.
Yes all the FW’s (except one the F4 ) are "possible" especially the higher gain ones if the source has enough volume.
Your Aurilec Vega has 4.37V output (more than double the norm), and nice low output impedance 4.7ohms better than most preamps, so you have a real good shot with the Tekton’s that I’ve seen, that are 98db!! efficient
Except for the FW F4 which has zero gain dB, I don’t think you’ll find a source with enough voltage output for that one.
http://www.firstwatt.com/prod.html
Cheers George