Preamp or not.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/high-end-stereo-preamps-worth-it?page=2 in particular, see mike lavigne’s post on second page... it covers well what is being asked search bar above is always your friend... :) |
@daledeee I don’ t think there is one answer to this passive vs active debate. It depends on your system. If 2V SE or 4V BAL from a DAC is enough to drive your speakers and your amp is right sized, passive should be fine. If you have demanding speakers and demanding music then an active might be right. I don’t see how an active preamp would make up for an undersized amp or hard to drive speakers. All the parts add up to the whole. An active preamp could add a sound signature that is appealing to some ears. well summarized i find passives are highly system dependent, even down to the cabling i use a sonnet morpheus dac with a lossless volume control to drive any new amp i get with short cables (<1 m) - thus removes the preamp from the chain for the clearest sense of the sound of the amp when i have a fix on what the amp sounds like, i then may elect to inject the pre/linestage into the chain to get input switching and whatever sonic benefits are needed (e.g. ayre for additional bass drive, cj tube unit to soften up the treble a touch and expand/deepen imaging, or i will use an old but lovely carver lightstar reference passive unit to gain input switching and volume control without adding any sonic drive - actually at a tiny of loss of drive...) |
