Who needs a Preamp??

My experience revealed that if one is going to be happy with an outboard dac it needs a high quality and beefy power supply. When I first got my Audio Alchemy DDOP-1 the seller did not have the PS 5 outboard power supply. It took about 8 months before I finally found one and the resultant improvement was definitely worth the $695
My Oppo 105's well known weak link is its OEM power supply. By chance I came across aftermarket LPMs on ebay for $200 and up. Even the ~ $200 ones had a very large toroid, and pretty decent board parts. I also upgraded the OEM IEC to a Furutech with attached silver wires to the board and ground and a bypass jumper for the 110/220 o/o switch. Best ~ $300 I've ever spent. No outboard dac can compete for the dollar value and extremely high sonics. This method also eliminates a power cord, interfacing cable, likely shelf space, and vibration control trinkets
for the last 2 days I have been cranking the gold remaster of Night Moves: very visceral and enjoyable.

itsjustme +1

The title of this thread motivated me to bypass my dac/pre

My Oppo 105 V V C sounds a whole lot better after I upgraded the IEC to one on Ebay that includes a heavy gauge silver wire harness. I further improved the sound when I replaced the OEM power module to one with a large toroid and superior parts. And while that made a quantum SQ jump it was when I upgraded my 1.0m XLR cable to WireWorld series 8 and replaced my AA DPA-1 with Ric Schultz EVS 1200 (newest IcePower dual 600w modules), which he then tweaks, that has me wondering whether a preamp is needed: I love this amp!.

Since bypassing my Audio Alchemy DDP + PS 5 power supply preamp a few days ago (not chump change), which I bought to play Redbook via my Marantz HD CD 1), I have listened primarily to SACDs, but 2 days ago I tried Redbook again. So far so good- very good, in fact. It seems that eliminating a power cord, and various digital cables (and another source with its PC and digital cables) can’t hurt WHEN the source has been, or is, improved
hth

OCD HiFi Guy (youtube channel) recently did a preamp shootout, including a stock Freya II and one with lots of mods. It didn’t come close to the others compared

I have tried many passives over the decades, including autoformers. Most likely the biggest issue was impedance mismatch. My current amp (EVS 1200) was interfaced with a AA DPA-1 + PS 5. Recently, I bypassed the pre and came straight out of my Oppo 105 with upgrade LPM that has a large toroid and better parts than the OEM. PS. Sounds pretty darn good. Keep in mind Ric also has a Oppo, albeit a 205, meaning impedance is probably matched

I have a ~ 15 yo PS Audio GCC 250 the GC stands for Gain Cell, sort of a passive. Why isn’t that tech still around?

The OP mentioned he has an Oppo, as do I. Mine is a 105. It never floated my boat run direct UNTIL I upgraded the oem crap power supply and bypassed the 110/220 jumper. Lots of LPS choices on eBay under $300.

Doing these simple things, plus using the balanced outs to my balanced amp, and leaving the cover off provides a pretty amazing result, for less than what a decent PC would cost to a decent preamp. I have a Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS 5, the PS came 5 months later. The combo made my then PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell pre sound like a typical thin (no meat on the bones) passive, but the upgraded 105 direct to map via quality XLRs is better still

hth