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To Pre or not to Pre? Here is my take

I remember reading in many places that the best preamp was no preamp.
Finally in a position to test that theory
Equipment is Esoteric sa-50 player, audio research ls preamp, bat vk600 power amp.
So I let everything warm up for an hour or so and then played some Halestorm through the system, for anybody who is not familiar with Mz. Hale, she is similar to a smoother Bonnie Tyler with more range! Her band has some great bass guitar and drum work as well so a nice little workout.
After 5 or 6 tracks I changed over to powering the bat direct from the esoteric using the same cardas xlr interconnects.
It only took a couple of tracks to confirm
I just did not like this sound, bass was much thinner, soundstage not as wide, vocals not as smokey for want of a better description of Mz. Hales style.
Hooked the ls2 back and joy was restored!

What does this tell me?
That absolutely the ls preamp is adding its own sonic signature to the mix, in theory that equates to probably a more "dirty" sound but to me this was the sound I preferred.
Now obviously no 2 people listening to the same gear are going to hear the same thing, its impossible!
However playing MY music on MY gear the sound going through the ls2 preamp was the sound that I wanted to hear, end of story.
Oh trust me its not just value perception, I sort of WANTED the sound to be better without the ls2 preamp as I could have then sold it and spent the money elsewhere! 
I know there will be lots of people who can spout theories to prove I am full of it but the only judge of the sound of your own system worth worrying about is yourself!
128x128uberwaltz
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
"...and one passive preamp to rule them all....."
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I have found that using my Audio Research LS27 tube preamp in my system, everything sounds much better.  I have found that using a top quality tube preamp is the single most significant important part of an audio system other than the speaker system and audio source itself.  And for them to work to their finest, again the tube preamp can make it all come together.  I previously had an Ayre K1xe and it could not even come close to my Audio Research LS27.  Even on television audio it makes a huge difference.  Just hearing the human voice it is so much more enjoyble sound.  Also I have an Rega Osiris integrated, and again it can not compete.  Also I am only using an Odyssey Khartago amplifier with my LS27-on high gain it seems much more powerful.  Also using the monitor output of the LS27 to a Stax headphone system,it is again quite apparent that an audio source will sound much superior if run thru my LS27 rather than directly from audio source to the Stax system itself.  So it is obvious to myself how a true quality tube preamp is the way to go.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
There is no preamp which sounds as good as no preamp. It is add by subtraction. , I have Audio Flight and Custom Tube [Magic] pre amps and both are very good but neither are as unforced or clean as my Townsend passive. If you will check the HiFi Critic site I believe that it was the highest rated component of any kind that they have tested. These are of course my ides and you can have your own. I will forgive you if you do! [humor]

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
"There is no preamp which sounds as good as no preamp "

And that was my initial thoughts and point behind this post
But my ears with my system in my room and my music just tell me different, and at the end of the day what I LIKE the sound of is what counts whether it is technically incorrect or not.
So throw me into the corner with the other dunces who like dirty distorted sonics from their tube preamp!
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
I think this topic was discussed ad nauseam in an earlier thread and the final conclusion was that there is no conclusion. I was so curios that I even went out and bought a Schiit Sys passive to experiment the hypothesis. In my case, I initially thought the music sounded more dynamic with the "direct" connection but I ultimately reversed and put the active pre back in the loop. For me, the direct route felt a little dry and too analytical whereas the active pre added a bit more warmth and sort of took the edge off the corners. All in all, this is a sort of thing that is so dependent on the components (and cables) that you won't be able to get a consensus of which is a better way to go. For example, I could have had a completely different experience if I had bought an uber $ passive vs. a $50 unit. To make it even more subjective, the preference may also depend on the type of music played through the system.
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