Ok another question - Significance of pre-amps

[Scumurculum]

I presently run my CD player (Shanling CD-T80) into my Home theatre receiver - admittedly a very good and expensive one (Denon AVCA11XV - 4806 equiv).

The Denon acts as a preamp to my Thule PA350b Power amp and then to my Aeon i's. (by the way thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on the other thread)

My question is: Will using a dedicated stereo pre-amp (perhaps valve but not necessarily) make much of a difference to sound quality.

Others on this forum have mentioned in various threads that it can make a difference, but would it be signficant enough difference to invest in one?

 

[Jeff Zaret]

Scumurculum,
A tough question to give you an exact answer of yes or no. I think it is best if you actually try it first. Borrow one, if you can take one home for a weekend demo from a store even better. Give it a few days then switch back and see if you hear a difference.

Personally, I think the less "things" in the path the better but that is me and only my opinion. It is less complicated and less possibility to "alter" the sound from the source to the speakers.

Jeff

 

[roberto]

Scumurculum,
A tough question to give you an exact answer of yes or no. I think it is best if you actually try it first. Borrow one, if you can take one home for a weekend demo from a store even better. Give it a few days then switch back and see if you hear a difference.

Personally, I think the less "things" in the path the better but that is me and only my opinion. It is less complicated and less possibility to "alter" the sound from the source to the speakers.

Jeff

Hola. Agree 100 x !00 with Jeff and also, when listening, spend some time with it. I would say about a week, then remove it from your system chain. This will tell you right away if you were in the right track with that preamplifier. Do not hear for bass or highs quantity, listen for the sound of the strings, (violin, cello, double bass, viola, etc) brass and percussion instruments.(Piano and spanish guitar are great material for these tests also). The voices are more real and palpable. Listen the scenario and the air between the instruments. Listen the thick of certain notes in a particular song. Don´t use too many musical instruments at the same time...avoid big symphonic orcherstras...(chamber music is o.k.) Of course you can listen this type of music, but do not use it for test...too many information could cause confusion. Use always the same musical material to perform the tests. I think that a good preamp is a must! but others might think it is not necessary. So, trust your ears and enjoy!...happy listening,
Pura vida,
Roberto.

 

[amey01]

And I'm the third one to agree!.......you have to spend some time to see if it is a difference you are prepared to pay for. I would hazard to say "yes" as a simpler, better quality, less noisy [processing circuits, video circuits] environment should be better for the signal. Also, a dedicated preamp is more likely to be able to drive the amplifier more accurately - it's designed for quality, not as a fashing all singing, all dancing video thingy.......

 

[twich54]

I also agree with Jeff / Roberto 100% !!

 

[SugarMedia]

My question is: Will using a dedicated stereo pre-amp (perhaps valve but not necessarily) make much of a difference to sound quality.

Here's an article on your topic that I think is worth reading.... Hope it helps.
http://www.audioport.com/understanding_hifi.htm

 

[Popipipo]

Hi,

I had the same question,until recently .

I thought that connecting my Sony CDP-559ES cdplayer directly to my Nuforce Ref 9's (by variable output of course) , would give me the best sound..

Boy, was I wrong.

When I connected it , via a Van Medevoort Pre, it was MUCH better..
The soundstage was wider and deeper, I had more air,and the dynamics also florished...

But, that's my experience.

Maybe you can borrow a good pre from a friend or your dealer so you can determine for yourself in your situation..

 

[tonyc]

My experience has been that a 2 channel analog preamp always improves the sound of both music and film-even when the 2 front channels from a prepro are run through the analog preamp. The caveat here is my limited experience: Prepros have included an old Lexicon, a Sherwood, and my current Myryad. Preamps tried include: CJ PV5 and Premier3 (and 3b), Rowland Coherence One and Consonance, Sonic Frontiers SFL2, audio research LS 25, and my current preamp audio research Ref 3. Specific improvements include dynamic range, width, depth and height of soundstage, as well as an increase in palpability of image. Just make sure the output impedence of the preamp is compatible with the input impedence of the amp (this is mostly an issue with tube preamps).