preamp vs. no-preamp

My experiences are exactly oppostie of Keith's, I have tried a few pre amps and always found running direct to be better. I in fact did use a CJ Art series I and compared it running direct and both I and the other audiophile listening agreed the CJ colored the sound and lost a LOT of detail/resolution not to mention having a MUCH higher noise floor. I have tried a BAT VK-30se and found there was NO comparison between the two, the passive attenuation of the Capitole was leaps and bounds better. Other pre-amps that friends have tried include- BAT VK-50se, Aesthetix IO signature with dual power supply, Manley Steelhead, Lamm L1 and L2, Edge it just doesn't seem to matter most prefer it run direct. For that matter the best digital playback I have heard ALWAYS uses a passive attenuation of some sort be it in the CD player or an external along the lines of the placette. Any other thoughts on this subject? this really seems unusual that Keith and I would have exact opposite point of views. My only concern that I have right now is I would like more body/weight in my vocals and a slightly larger sound stage- would an active pre help this??? I doubt it- more room treatment, power cords or maybe a new amp is on my docket.

KF- If you are not famaliar with Jena Labs and are still searching for the holy grail-in cables- you owe it to yourself to try them. Me, along with everyone else I know who uses these cables feels we are off the upgrade path- yes they are that good! I am skeptic that new cables would help, I am leaning towards pointing the finger at the room/amp. I have heard 5 different Capitole mkII's in different systems and they all seem the same(I surely didn't accomplish all of this comparison at my place :) ran direct, the VK-500 is the cheapest amp that I know anyone is using with a capitole MkII- I don't think I should be bragging about that though!

I am also going try a few PC's before an amp swap, I currently use the Jena Labs 7 strainders and think they are really good but I want to get an Elrod EPS signature 2 and a Shunyata Anaconda on the capitole to see if it will truly give me what I want prior to biting off more then I care to chew :)

It is possible that synergy is the factor at hand- one only knows why our systems all sound so different! Cheers and happy listening ~Tim

Gecus- Your experiences are interesting, I would have to agree with the CD players you used. I had an Accuphase DC-300 digital pre and I never cared for the volume control on it- it like the players you tried use a digital volume control, which some claim drops bits. I did not experience bit dropping per se how ever it just never sounded smooth enough it always had that digital edge/glare to it.

Sutts- Thank you for reinforcing me trying that PC, I will have to give them a shot! Hey you never know until you get it into your system.

This is really very helpful, I never realized we were all this split in our opinions on the subject :) I nice friendly disagreement- Happy listening everyone even if you use a pre ;)