Two times now I have been without a preamp and was forced to go direct via the variable output on different CDPs. Both times my wife has said it sounds like s**t. I don't know if it qualifies her but she can hear the difference.
Do female audiophiles exist
I've hear of UFO's , and Bigfoot, but never seen one!
I've never heard of an audiophile from the opposite sex, and never seen one either.