@rvpiano . Hey L.I. buddy, I hope life is treating you well, as well as can be expected. Turning 71 soon, and I have to say, my ears still are quite youthful (thank goodness). I talk to my good friend from N.J. on our cells, I’m in FL., and I easily hear when he gets out of his car, and into his house, or vice versa. The listening space is easily heard by me, and I always shout it out to him. "Your in the house now"...and he is always blown away, because it never happens with him, and he has good ears. Enough about that. Listening passively vs. a preamp (with gain), are very different in what they do. I go back and forth between my Luminous Audio passive unit but use a preamp or two when I am running my Rawson DIY F4, which needs gain. During this time, when I connect another power amp (of so many) with the preamp being in the loop, the sq is great, but little details are lost. With the preamp, there is a "jump" factor that is not there with the passive. I am a dynamics freak, but I am not talking about dynamics here. Another word that describes what I am talking about. Overhead, maybe. Both are enjoyable, but I mainly use my preamps for when I am enjoying the characteristics (or lack of) of the F4. BTW, there are sq differences is passive units, and I love my Luminous. Can you describe what you are and/or not hearing? Always, MrD.
No preamp in system
I want to point out how the perception of our equipment changes over time. I’m getting so use to the sound of my system without a preamp (which is out for repair) to the point that I’m accepting it as good sound. It reveals something about our hobby. When we get new equipment we often say “let it break in.” And lo and behold, it sounds much better over time. Is it that were really fooling ourselves, and that it’s simply a matter of us getting use to it?
Just food for thought.