2. amps-preamps
  3. 182217-6478

Whats the ultimate goal with your pre amp ?

I have a great pre amp its a Pass labs XP-22. Its a great compliment to the rest of my gear-Pass 250.8-Pass XP-17 phono pre-VPI Prime Signature TT-Auralic Aries 2.1 Streamer- PS Audio Directstream MK2--Harbeth 40.2 Anniversaries.

My question is- At what point is a pre amp overkill ? Example- In terms of performance- How close does a Parasound JC-2 get to a Pass XP-22 ?

In my mind I want the Pre to be uncolored..silent...and have flexibility/with XLR's in and out. Does or should it cost 10K to achieve this ?

The point of this post is to gather opinions on what other audiophile thoughts are .

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.

krelldog

Showing 2 responses by holmz

holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

In my mind I want the Pre to be uncolored..silent...and have flexibility/with XLR's in and out. Does or should it cost 10K to achieve this ?

Just get one with a high SINAD then and call it a day.

Some people also choose a tube preamp and run into SS and desire a bit of color.

 

The ultimate goals are:

  • Allowing switching of inputs
  • Level control and balance
  • Sometimes tone controls.
  • Driving the IC that leads to the amp with a low enough output impedance.
holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

The preamp is overkill when your source components are of lesser quality.

Well the TT is working nice.
But the old CD player, TV, and DAC running into it are all together maybe 1/4 of the price of the preamp.
But I can switch between the 4 sources, and a radio tuner (so 5 sources).

If one only has a DAC or some other single source, then they could remove the preamp if the volume can be controlled reliably.

 

 

Roger Sanders “The Preamp” is the most, colorless preamp I’ve ever used, it is the proverbial straightwire with gain I’ve ever purchased. 
​​​​​….

Or straight wire with attenuation. 😎

 

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