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Preamplifier power supply

Hi folks, should a preamplifier have a BIG (that is: an overkill power supply) to sound dynamic and authoritative? I'm asking this because some experts would say "yes" while others would say "no". Recently a well known audio journalist (Anthony Cordesmann?) said that the preamplifier doesn't have to have a big power supply because it doesn't have to deliver lots of energy (in the form of current). A preamplifier can sound "dynamic" even with very modest power supply --> for example the built in preamplifier in the Benchmark DAC. But some manufacturers rely on a truly overkill power supply in their reference preamplifiers: MBL, First Sound Audio, BAT, VTL, LAMM, Mark Levinson. So who is right?

Chris
dazzdax

Showing 1 response by ausernamethathasntbeentaken

ausernamethathasntbeentaken
7 posts
 
Could someone please simplify this discussion for me back to the basics? To quote Jeremy Irons in Margin Call, "speak to me as though I were a young child...or a golden retriever."

Why is a separate power supply necessary at all? In the last hi-fi system I had (Mac C22, MC275, Marantz 10B), the wall plug in the NYC apartment I had at the time seemed to be a pretty good power supply. I'm now getting back into hi-fi and recently acquired a Levinson 25S phono preamp with a separate PLS 226 power supply. I haven't yet used it since I'm still in the process of acquiring the other necessary stuff (signal source, preamp etc.)

I gather that the 25S (or 26S preamp) wouldn't be of much use if it could be plugged directly into a wall socket. Why, in very simple terms, is that?

thanks! 
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