honashhagen,
Many years ago Adcom had a pass thru line stage, touted as no coloration. I tried it with many amps. It did not seem to impart any color to the sound, yet something imho was missing. Well, not just imho... something was missing. The dynamics seemed compressed, and while there seemed to be minimal if any serious coloration to the sound (the bane of some preamps), there was also a lack of texture, space and fine detail. You know how when everything comes to life in music, the actual physical distance between the guitar and drums, the bass player... that was missing when compared to a good preamp.
In fact the last comparison was putting a Gryphon Preamp, (very, very expensive) with any and all of the amps, all areas of aforementioned subtleties came to life. The preamp seemed to take the amp, even an Adcom 60wpc, to another level. It was a great thought experiment that I still remember more than 20 years hence.
So, I recommend a good preamp at whatever price you can afford... BUT experiment... you won't regret it.
Best,
Larry
Many years ago Adcom had a pass thru line stage, touted as no coloration. I tried it with many amps. It did not seem to impart any color to the sound, yet something imho was missing. Well, not just imho... something was missing. The dynamics seemed compressed, and while there seemed to be minimal if any serious coloration to the sound (the bane of some preamps), there was also a lack of texture, space and fine detail. You know how when everything comes to life in music, the actual physical distance between the guitar and drums, the bass player... that was missing when compared to a good preamp.
In fact the last comparison was putting a Gryphon Preamp, (very, very expensive) with any and all of the amps, all areas of aforementioned subtleties came to life. The preamp seemed to take the amp, even an Adcom 60wpc, to another level. It was a great thought experiment that I still remember more than 20 years hence.
So, I recommend a good preamp at whatever price you can afford... BUT experiment... you won't regret it.
Best,
Larry