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Do I need pre-amp? Upgrade amp or buy pre-amp? Audionote system

Hello everyone,

I have a strange question.. Tried googling, but found a number of various answers but still not to the point where all is clear.

Currently I own Audionote P3 Silver amplifier which has integrated volume control, play music through it without any pre-amp, sounds great, no issues. I was thinking to upgrade it to a better AN amp, but upgrade would cost around the same as a good pre-amp. My question is - do I upgrade to a better amp or purchase pre-amp and use it with current amp?

AN has Meishu line, which as I understand has a built in pre-amp, so theoretically, Meishu should sound better than P3 despite being same line just because it comes with integrated pre-amp?

Thanks!
128x128execine
execine's avatar
execine OP
5 posts
 
This is what I read everywhere, though the question - should I spend 6-8k on an amp upgrade or same money on a pre-amp. Will spending that money on pre-amp make bigger difference?

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,501 posts
 
A quality pre-amp will make a difference. If you are happy with your amp, keep it. I'm not a flea power guy and I don't know what loudspeakers you are running so I can't say if a new amp is needed.  
execine's avatar
execine OP
5 posts
 
Speakers are Audionote AN-E SPE HE.

p.s. I only listen Tidal through streamer if that does make any difference, no LP, no CD
zipost's avatar
zipost
197 posts
 
if you are streaming then i would not bother with a preamp. Simplicity with less headache, no need for interconnects, power cable, tube matching, etc....peace of mind just pure music. If you are going to spend money on another preamp, for sure in the ranges of $5k+ used, if not don’t bother. Integrated are nice, make your life simple and enjoy the music!
execine's avatar
execine OP
5 posts
 
Currently i do not have any pre-amp thus the question whether I should spend my money on a pre-amp or just upgrade the amp, money is approx the same..

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