2. amps-preamps
  3. 1074903995

Won't preamps become obsolete?

I'm in the market for a new preamp because I want to upgrade from my Conrad Johnson PV10A. I listen mostly to vinyl but some CD and hopefully SACD some day so I need a preamp to integrate sources. As I look at the used preamp ads on A'gon, however, I notice more and more people saying that they are selling their preamp because they are going directly from a cd player with volume control into an amp. As vinyl wanes (never with me!) will the preamp follow suit or become more oriented towards integrating home theatre digital video and audio sources?
jyprez

Showing 2 responses by sasaudioff54

sasaudioff54
3 posts
 
I don't think so. The reason are several fold, of which two are:

1) Separating the first stage from the following stages relieves the problem of frequency dependent feedback through the power supply. This lessens sonic interactions between stages, resulting in better, more lively, sound quality.

2) Hum and noise are reduced without compromising the integrity of the design.

Steve
SAS Audio Labs
sasaudioff54
3 posts
 
Sounds like the preamp, or for that matter the amp or speaker (possibly the extra ICs), doesn't have flat frequency response. (If the preamp is capacitively coupled, the input impedance (Z) of the amp may be too low.)

In otherwards, it is possible that one is compensating, sonically, for the other component(s).

Steve
SAS Audio Labs
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