High end stereo preamps? Worth it?

my current system consists of Musical Fidelity M6PRX amp and M6PRE. I am also using a Mytek Brooklyn Dac + and PS Audio phono stage. Both the Dac and Phono stage have preamps and the M6PRX amp has switchable inputs. I took the preamp out of the system and am running the Dac and phono straight to the amp. It sounds very good and I tried it for several weeks but I will be putting the Pre back in simply because with the pre it sounds "more musical" to me. Hard to describe, both are very good but with the Pre it just sounds right. This may be a dumb statement but doesn't every component deconstruct and reconstruct the signal ?

cerberus79 - As far as I know, any signal coming in to a box via interconnect cable is processed in some way and goes out of the box differently. Even if it is just going through the interconnects, the sound changes. Less processing is better (cleaner, although some people like their sound colored a certain way - I prefer accurate sound as the artist/producer/sound mixer intended). That's why not using a bass and treble knob gives more accurate sound and equalizers sound bad. It's a case of less is more. Also, a switchable amp is for all intents and purposes an integrated amp. It has to be switchable (by definition) since you are listening to two sources. That's the tradeoff of the Sutherland box - it is a phono stage only and goes straight to a power amp. No other sources are accessible to that amp without unplugging some cord and plugging it somewhere else.

@itsjustme - good to know. what is an RIAA? If it is some kind of processing of the signal, it defeats the purpose. If not, are you a manufacturer of products or a tinkerer building things for your own enjoyment?

When I found that my German Physiks speakers sounded better with a Class D amp than my Krell, I removed the preamp and feed the MiniDSP streamer digital feed direct to the amp. This eliminates an unnecessary DAC and ADC cycle- and sounds wonderful. 

Consider ignoring the "If You can’t Measure it"..."Only Trust Blind Testing" posts and LISTEN....

That’s just it you can measure it, and hear it. Going direct is even better again than the quote below by Nelson Pass, as there’s one less set of interconnects and a volume pot in the signal path, when going direct.

Nelson Pass:

“We’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more.

Think of it this way: If you are running your volume control down around 9 o’clock, you are actually throwing away signal level so that a subsequent gain stage can make it back up.

Routinely DIYers opt to make themselves a “passive preamp” - just an input selector and a volume control.

What could be better? Hardly any noise or distortion added by these simple passive parts. No feedback, no worrying about what type of capacitors – just musical perfection.

And yet there are guys out there who don’t care for the result. “It sucks the life out of the music”, is a commonly heard refrain (really - I’m being serious here!). Maybe they are reacting psychologically to the need to turn the volume control up compared to an active preamp.”

Cheers George