Eliminated my preamp with amazing results

As i said with the huge difference in price, design quality, needs etc there is no rule applicable to all case...

Removing a preamplifier or adding one CANNOT be a rule for all cases...

For me, i just receive new tubes for my low cost Douk preamplifier i coupled to my active speakers ( heavily modified) the difference before with low cost tube was evident for the better, it is now staggeringly better with these tubes...I will never return to self amplified speakers with no tube preamplification...As i will never use low cost active speakers with rear porthole without redesigning it for the best and the tweeter waveguide too .. 😁

In my case it was necessary to add a tube preamplifier ...

By the way my sound quality for the invested price amaze me so much it cannot be believed even by me listening to it ...😁

Acoustics, and electrical and mechanical workings controls embedded  devices are the key...

i pity anyone who pay more for not much better...

buy high-end gear yes if you can , but learn how to embed it seriously...If you miss optimizing your gear you will upgrade unnecessarily... Trust me on this...

😊

Am i deaf if i am wrong feeling no need to upgrade to a high end system ?

The truth is between a well optimized system at any price and a costlier one not optimized the difference if it exist is thinner than most people think ...Not worth the money in many case.... Then if you had just bought high end learn how to embed it ...

i just bought a tube preamplifier for volume control and tube sound to compensate a bit for my active speakers amplification... Total success...

If a guy used a tube pre-amp then a regular solid state amp does the tube preamp inject the smoothness and soundstage of a tube?  Or, the tubes Must be in the amp to achieve the tube character of sound?  Does anyone have first hand knowledge?

Gowan is a seller so honest it could be and listening to him i consider him honest...

But his advice made no sense at all when we spoke about ALL people needs, different gear at different price ...

My low cost tube preamplifier do marvel for my active speakers...

Gowan will say to me seriously if i dont buy his one , throw the low cost one in the trash bin ? If he said so he spoke as a seller in spite of common sense sorry...

No he will never say that if he was seriously thinking ...

We are not all people with unlimited budget ...

Audiophile is not about "absolute sound" per se, it is about the way to use optimally what we have ...

Anybody saying the opposite is in the top % of the population for money and probably ignore or underestimated acoustics and all the cheap way to optimize any system mechanicvally and electrically , with or without preamplification ...

My system is low cost but the sound is not trash sound AT ALL ... Even if i cannot compare with high end  and by high end for me an acoustic dedicated room is necessary by the way,  i compare with system many times over my price and for the other system better than mine i dont bother so minimally good is my acoustic experience on all count...

Even when they are honest, seller speak for their crowd not for all people... I prefer for advice acoustician and scientist who sell nothing ... Or users experiences ...

Paul summarized very clealy..." if you’re not able to afford something as good as a BHK preamp($7000)DO NOT put a lesser preamp between the DAC and the amp. Go direct DAC to AMP" "it will sound BETTER".

What is a high quality dac, used in some specific coupling parameters, not only electrical one but acoustical and mechanical one ? Dac vary a lot in price and properties...

We all have different ears, needs, gear pieces and different room and different house electrical grid and noise level floor etc Even speakers vibrations and resonance here play a role etc ...

Rules applied in a regulated environment...

Living room are not a regulated environment nor the general gear design on the market is regulated with an enough refined level of standards to make possible such a rule as : no need for a preamplifier or the opposite rule , we all need a preamplifier...

Is it not evident ? 😊

it is interesting to read opinions and experience of each others about such and such gear piece...Needed or not...

But there can be only  anecdotes here , because too many factors and specific needs and different gear levels experience are implied...

I dont need a preamplifier with my integrated TOP Sansui alpha for sure driving my headphones only now ...

But suppose i  want  to upgrade it with a TOP power amplifier because i had mew big speakers  , i will need one....Or suppose i decide to buy a TOP integrated superior to the Sansui alpha ? Now suppose i upgraded this integrated superior to my Sansui alpha with a power amplifier top in the world , i will need a TOP preamplifier  ( a tube Berning preamp ? )  ...

This had no ends, add each one of us system and needs and all acoustic, electrical and mechanical parameters at play...

 There is no rule here AT ALL ....

By the way as i said i bought a low cost tube preamplifier to add to my active speakers : total improvement and not small ...It is anecdotal as is anecdotal the possible improvement in some specific mechanical,electrical and acoustical embeddings workings system/house/room if we throw off the preamplifier ...some coupling are bad or useless  or simply not synergetical  etc ...

There is no simplistic explanation for a preamplifier or against it ...

It is relative to electrical matching, volume control, tone control , the specs of the dac source and the spec of the amplifier and i forgot probably many other things...

There is no singular rule here as the simplistic eliminate the preamplifier all the time or put a preamplifier all the time ...

And which preamplifier tube or S. S. and for which amplifier Tubes or S.S. ? From which dac S.S. or a tube one ? etc...

You must read the electrical specs compatibility first then listen to it .,..

The preamplifier you eliminate can even be replaced by a better one... Or perhaps you dont need one really ... Do you need tone controls and tube sound and volume control ? etc

Do you need a headphone out absent from the power amplifier ?  etc

😊

I just add a tube pre-amp to my active speakers...

Here in my case it is for sure positive as i was expecting...

Correcting mismatch or compensation, or addition of something else like tubes in my case, it is always relative to many factors not only the gear synergy but the room  and your ears..

We cannot say buy a preamp always or i dont need one... It is each case  different ... And all pre are not from the same mold ...