I don't know the technical reasons for my own preferences but my pre amp adds a lot to the overall sound I get. I find that the tubes my pre uses are very good at giving my sound big Tone as I call it a certain full rich and lush at times quality that I like. I have owned an ARC pre and found it to be fairly transparent not adding or limiting much. AS always it coimes down to system synergy and personal preferences.
pre-amp vs dac straight to amps
i have a old (but nice) audio reseach ls-8 going into a ps audio dac III with full cullen upgrades. pre=amp is getting long in tooth and wondering, replace? my whole catalog of over 1500 cd's are now all flac files out of a pc. does the pre-amp add anything ( i thought tubes soften?) so.....
buy a new pre-amp or go straight from dac to amps (yes i know will need something to control volume). thanks very much
buy a new pre-amp or go straight from dac to amps (yes i know will need something to control volume). thanks very much