Assuming you don’t create a major impedance mismatch, there’s no right answer.
The goal IMHO is your personal enjoyment. Your personal enjoyment may or may not align with any particular technical measure of performance. I mean, no one wants noise, or we think we don’t, but how low is low enough, and what are you trading off for lower noise?
There are some preamps like older Conrad Johnsons, which are pretty seductive liars. I doubt technically they measure very well, but I love to listen to them. In that case, removing the preamp from my chain is not what I want. Right now, I’m using a Mytek Brooklyn through a Parasound P7. The Brooklyn is more revealing and more relaxed sounding, but for technical issues I need the P7 in the mix. Kind of depends.
I will say I have had the chance to stream video from my Oppo (older BD player) and the Mytek, and the Mytek easily beats it for sound quality, but can't do 5.1 or 7.1
Best,
E
The goal IMHO is your personal enjoyment. Your personal enjoyment may or may not align with any particular technical measure of performance. I mean, no one wants noise, or we think we don’t, but how low is low enough, and what are you trading off for lower noise?
There are some preamps like older Conrad Johnsons, which are pretty seductive liars. I doubt technically they measure very well, but I love to listen to them. In that case, removing the preamp from my chain is not what I want. Right now, I’m using a Mytek Brooklyn through a Parasound P7. The Brooklyn is more revealing and more relaxed sounding, but for technical issues I need the P7 in the mix. Kind of depends.
I will say I have had the chance to stream video from my Oppo (older BD player) and the Mytek, and the Mytek easily beats it for sound quality, but can't do 5.1 or 7.1
Best,
E