High end stereo preamps? Worth it?

@georgehifi,

Obviously there isn’t a randomized, blindfolded study published on my supposition. My point is that the “distortion” straw man set up in previous posts is not, in all cases, wedded to the effect on the listener’s ear in real life. So, I chose to make an example at the extremes. Thanks to today’s technology, you can buy a receiver at Best Buy tonight for $300 having gaudier distortion numbers than the Lamm ML2.2 SETs; a unit that the vast majority of professional reviewers regard as among the very best sounding amplifiers on the planet. 

Lamm ML2.2 SETs; a unit that the vast majority of professional reviewers regard as among the very best sounding amplifiers on the planet.

And that very debatable also, I heard the Lam’s driving the very easy load of Genesis 5.3 mids and tops only, (as the have active bottom end) and an old stereo Classe DR25 made the Lam’s sound lazy with less transparency and detail.

Cheers George

I don't think you need a preamp in a digital/streaming system.  You just need an attenuuator to "pre-attenuate" the signal.  If you want the best attenuation, the Benchmark LA4 is about as clean and transparent as it gets.

That said, if you try several linestages, you may find one that produces a deep emotional response when you hear music played through it.  But I don't think money relates directly to finding that magic, or that the linestage is objectively better than others.  It's all experiential.

In my case, it was a Modwright 36.5 with a NOS Mullard in the power supply.  Loved it in the first fifteen seconds and ever since.  Wouldn't let it go. More distortion? I'll trump that objective card with pure pleasure and a smile of musical bliss.

George,

I was trying to make a point with extremes. A point which you can substitute your favorite amp in place of the Lamms. The thrust of my argument, I believe, will still hold true. 
No one can argue your perception or argue how any piece of equipment makes you feel.  But, with respect to the example I’ve chosen, the Lamm SETs, it’s really not fair to discount what a great majority of reviewers, reviewers who are paid to review gear, have said about a unit publicly and in major journals. You certainly are free to disagree about their opinions, but still...

Best,

b

Just asked for the link/s to "your claim" that 

  that the vast majority of professional reviewers regard (the Lams) as among the very best sounding amplifiers on the planet.

That's all.

Cheers George