2. amps-preamps
  3. 1314231744

Is no preamp the best preamp of all?

As an experiment I hooked up my OPPO BDP-95 (which has a volume control) directly to my amp. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear a significant improvement in clarity and sound quality. Typically I have the analog outputs on the OPPO running through my preamp in Analog Direct. I have heard that the circuitry within preamps can cause cross-talk in the analog signal, deteriorating the quality of the signal. So, would having no preamp (and therefore no other circuits to interfere with the signal) be better than an expensive analog or digital preamp running in Analog Direct? I am not really interested in Room Correction or DSP of any kind. I was considering purchasing a Bel Canto PRe6 (which I've read is excellent for multichannel analog), but would it be better to just have the OPPO running directly to the power amp?
cdj123

Showing 6 responses by atmasphere

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,088 posts
 
Daverz, usually the problem with digital volume controls occurs when you drop the volume below about 75-85% of full volume, heard as a loss of resolution.

To get around this problem many CD players actually have analog controls (which quite often is a chip) supplemented with digital displays.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,088 posts
 
Daverz, on an analog control you will not hear much in the way of a loss of resolution. You may hear some colorations depending on the control and its position, but not a loss of resolution.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,088 posts
 
Daverz, it does not work that way. If you turn the volume down, and assuming that 0db is your 'floor', the quietest portions will still be at or above that floor. This is true of any volume control.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,088 posts
 
Daverz, those least significant bits contain detail.

Now to your issue about the 30 db. Think about in terms of a magnifying glass. Without the glass you can see a small object and depending on your eyes, all the detail is there. When you use the magnifying glass (volume turned up) the detail is still there but its **size** is increased- in fact the **size** of the object is increased through the glass. But when you take the glass away the object is still there. Volume controls work the same way. In a sense, they make the sound bigger or smaller. Ideally the relationship between the smallest and largest sounds is not changed. Its just the overall size that has changed.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,088 posts
 
If you have volume controls in your amps you stand a good chance of making it work. When you have a stand-alone volume control with cables feeding it and it driving a cable, the math tends to go against you and you will loose bass and dynamics as a result.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,088 posts
 
Mitch2, your experience mirrors my own. I always tell people that if the line section is properly designed, a passive won't touch it, but if they hear the passive being better, it simply means that the line stage in question was not 'properly designed'. 'Mid-level preamps' probably describes that quite well.
More to discover