2. amps-preamps
  3. 191954-150037

Preamp used in HT bypass - Signal degrade??

Is it a good idea to put a preamplifier between a Home Theater processor and your amplifiers?  Initially I thought it might be good to benefit from whatever the pre-amplifier may offer but if you got a very good processor it may be pointless and detrimental.

I tried it for a while and I think passing signal through a preamplifier tends to limit some detail.  It's like removing a restrictive conditioner from the power cord. Is this the case or am I imagining things? It may sound a lot clearer and open and including the preamplifier may not be a good thing.  So why does anybody use a bypass component it's just another piece of hardware along the signal chain?   Maybe it's a trade-off for the convenience.

 

 

emergingsoul

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,732 posts
 

Also worth noting, audiophiles tend to over-emphasize ANY change at all.  That is, a tiny change we spend weeks listening for somehow justified a $2,000 speaker cable. 

Worth keeping in mind any change you perceive and putting into the grand scheme of things.  If you weren't testing A/B would you even care about this difference?  Is the convenience of using a preamp with HT bypass not worth the degradation? It may be OK to ignore it and say "good enough."

erik_squires
16,732 posts
 

I can't answer this question in the general sense, but I can in the specific.

Anyone can make a bad preamp with a bad HT bypass.  The question is, if your preamp is bad, why are you using it? If it's degrading the HT signal it's probably degrading everything else.

My experience with Parasound P7 and Luxman integrated is no, it's not the preamp that degrades HT sound so much as the quality of the HT signal to begin with.  If your HT preamp sounds noticeably better, get another stereo preamp, it's in the way.

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