The Best Preamp is no Preamp?

Tortuga Audio....Try one

Tried no preamp for a while. Really liked it for a minute. Bass was good, treble was pretty good. When things got fast it was all together with no definition. I spent about a month on it then moved back. Like it was running out of gas.

I used to avoid a preamp for a long time. A friend told me to try his parasound pld/2000 and I could not believe, how much more detail and body it gave to the music. Now I replaced the parasound with a Hegel Pre and I cannot believe it can be any better. Give it a try and you will hear the positive abilities of a preamp.

What power amps were you using? 

I think that in the absolute majority of cases a good pre active will bring advantages in sound quality, in addition to being perhaps essential for some systems that need that extra gas besides the volume control. But in my particular case, as I have plenty of power and use exclusively the volume of the HQPlayer software integrated into Roon, in principle I don't need a pre. The decision to use it or not was difficult, but after months of alternating I'm choosing not to use it. Main advantages: absolute background silence, discreet improvement in transparency and focus, without prejudice to dynamics, simplification and greater security in the event of a power failure that has already given me some scares. Normally I need to turn on the pre Don Sachs II tube at least 30 seconds before the amplifier and when turning off always in reverse order. The pre provides a slightly warmer tone. My system: PC with HQP/Roon and modem in another room --- ethernet cable (10m) to audio room with urendu/T+A DAC8 DSD line out (no volume control) to Amp Accuphase P-6100 (which has 4 gain positions). The DAC has 2V/22 ohms out and the Accuphase 20Kohms input and 110 W/c/8 ohms output. Audiopax Mandolin II speakers (91 db sensitivity).