Steelhead as a preamp?

I had the Steelhead running directly into a pair of Tenor 300 amps. I much preferred the direct run. Much more transparency. Don't agree that it sounds less dynamic. I think it sounds less hyped. Much easier to hear the micro-dynamics. One other thing you might try: even though you may have a moving coil cartridge, use the moving magent output. I spent a full day going back and forth and it is quite clear that the moving magnet output is much more transparent - no contest. Initially, the sound seems a bit thread-bare, but after you get used to it, you realize, what you are missing is just the coloration. The sound is much more natural. The higher the output of the cartridge, the better, but I used the Dynavector DVX-1s. Occaisionally, I would turn up the gain, but tried to avoid it because of the added noise. In any case, I would give it a real try and see if you like it.

Audiofell

You are correct.That is what I meant. So sue me

Rloggie,

I did not find running the Steelhead into the amps to "soften" things. If anything I found the leading edge, transients and microdynamics much more defined - i.e., it was much more transparent. Having said that, it is less bloomy (as I said, using the moving magnet output) - at times it could sound threadbare. If I had had a really good pre-amp and put the Steelhead through that using the moving magnet output, that, as Cincy-bob points out might have been the ideal combination. But you have to spend some serious bucks to get a preamp that is good enough to let the Steelhead shine. In the end, I have gone with the Dartzeel preamp which is a great linestage and has a great phono preamp