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Re: How to evaluate preamps?

You're driving 9m of interconnect, there's no doubt an active pre is yer best choice. Preamps are funny. As the wag Sam Tellig once said, you have to spend a LOT of money for one that does nothing to the sound! And one that's heavenly in one reviewer's system might sound lifeless in yours. While theoretically a passive is best, I think active preamps often help bring out the best of your sources because they give them a CONSTANT, high impedance load-a MUCH easier thing for most sources to drive. This will often offset the (more than) theoretical insertion loss.
You already know the basics:If yer power amp is low input impedance SS, you're going to have better luck with a preamp that has a low output impedance, most of the time. If you're driving long interconnects, that's a good idea anyway. The bigger the power supply of the pre, the better the sound, IME, all other things being equal. Not all tube preamps sound warm and euphonic anymore; not all SS preamps sound thin or hard anymore, either. Oftentimes, a preamp from the same maker of your power amp will have system synnergy, so maybe that's where you should start.


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Follow Ups
  • Re: How to evaluate preamps? - Marc Bratton 20:32:26 05/11/07 (1)
    • agreed - WEEZ 09:25:52 05/12/07 (0)

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