I am a hater of Pre-amps! after 20 years of playing around in this wonderful hobby I have learned that pre-amps have the highest potential of messing things up.
Let's say you find your dream source, a great amp/speaker combination and a room that cooperates, all that can go to hell fast with the wrong Preamp. They are necessary for switching among multiple sources (most systems for sure) and to "attenuate" the playback level (90% of the time) and occasionally amplify the input level (10% of the time?).
My most satisfying solution has been the use of a passive pre. I am currently using a Luminous Axiom pre which is nothing more than a potentiometer shunted to a quality resistor. No switches what so ever in the signal path. I believe they do offer models with multiple inputs if needed. Most folks shy away from passive pre-amps because they are not as straight forward to apply. I have had terrific results with many amp/speaker combinations as long as you follow these simple rules:
Keep the interconnect runs short
Use amps with the highest possible input impedance (30K or higher, 100k best)
Use amps with an input sensitivity as low as possible (say 1 Volt or less for full output).
Source with 2 volt outputs or higher (most players)
What that means is if your amp is rated to put out 100 Watts at 1 volt and you run your CD player directly (or through the passive pre) at 2 volts you have more than enough to drive the amp to more than full rated output!
What you get is the least messing up of your source signal. Having said all that, there are excellent active preamps out there that don't mess up the signal AND make the sound more dynamic with slightly more detail due to the fact that impedance matching is no longer an issue and the signal goes through an amplification stage (only to be attenuated again!). Good preamps tend to be expensive.
Pick the best source
Don't mess it up with the pre
Choose an amp with the sound signature you like and enough power for your speakers/room
POSITION your speakers for best sound, this can be a drawn out effort.
Cheers
Let's say you find your dream source, a great amp/speaker combination and a room that cooperates, all that can go to hell fast with the wrong Preamp. They are necessary for switching among multiple sources (most systems for sure) and to "attenuate" the playback level (90% of the time) and occasionally amplify the input level (10% of the time?).
My most satisfying solution has been the use of a passive pre. I am currently using a Luminous Axiom pre which is nothing more than a potentiometer shunted to a quality resistor. No switches what so ever in the signal path. I believe they do offer models with multiple inputs if needed. Most folks shy away from passive pre-amps because they are not as straight forward to apply. I have had terrific results with many amp/speaker combinations as long as you follow these simple rules:
Keep the interconnect runs short
Use amps with the highest possible input impedance (30K or higher, 100k best)
Use amps with an input sensitivity as low as possible (say 1 Volt or less for full output).
Source with 2 volt outputs or higher (most players)
What that means is if your amp is rated to put out 100 Watts at 1 volt and you run your CD player directly (or through the passive pre) at 2 volts you have more than enough to drive the amp to more than full rated output!
What you get is the least messing up of your source signal. Having said all that, there are excellent active preamps out there that don't mess up the signal AND make the sound more dynamic with slightly more detail due to the fact that impedance matching is no longer an issue and the signal goes through an amplification stage (only to be attenuated again!). Good preamps tend to be expensive.
Pick the best source
Don't mess it up with the pre
Choose an amp with the sound signature you like and enough power for your speakers/room
POSITION your speakers for best sound, this can be a drawn out effort.
Cheers