2. amps-preamps
  3. 156901-130195

If I just use a DAC, do I need a Pre-amp?

I recently asked a Facebook group this same question.  I should have asked audio forum folks first.  Sorry if there is overlap.

If I only use DACs for my amp, why do I need a Pre-amp?
I have the opportunity to get a nice Fisher 400CX-2...but why?

I have volume control on my Fiio M15, and volume via my player for my Chord Qutest.  How will a pre-amp make things better.  


davidgwillett

Showing 1 response by ddafoe

ddafoe
259 posts
 
John Atkinson's review of the Pass XP-30 preamp is a pretty interesting read relative to the question of to use a preamp or not; e.g. https://www.stereophile.com/content/pass-laboratories-xp-30-line-preamplifier

He starts by referencing the Ayre KX-R preamp with

So much for the effect of expectations on perception: the KX-R sounded better than no preamp at all! As Wes Phillips described in his review, music sounded especially alive through the KX-R, whereas with the Transporter driving the amplifiers directly, it was all a touch less involving; acoustic objects within the soundstage were all a tad less fleshed out.

But it could be argued that my finding should not have surprised me. Ever since reviewing Audio Research's groundbreaking SP-10 preamplifier in July 1984, I have suspected that the preamplifier is the heart of a system, that it colors and adds its own character to every signal that passes through it. What I hadn't anticipated was that this character might not be a mere absence of negatives, but could also be a positive attribute.

and concludes with

The XP-30 has rekindled for me the concept that the beating heart of an audio system is the preamplifier.

More to discover