jaysung;410341 Wrote: > I think Cliveb said that one of the biggest improvements he made was > removing the pre. Yes, I did say that. Just to give you the context: my power amps/speakers are a pair of ATC SCM100A, which I think it's fair to say are generally regarded as extremely accurate and revealing. The preamp I was using was a Nakamichi CA7. This was the best preamp Nak ever made (back in the days when they made proper high-end gear). It cost 2,500 UKP back in about 1990. Was it transparent? I thought so at the time - it certainly *destroyed* the Naim preamp that it replaced. About the only possible criticism I could level at it was that it might have been just a tad bass-light. But when I took it out of circuit, another level of inner detail was revealed. I have come to the conclusion that active preamps are typically the least transparent electronic component in a system. Getting one that introduces no audible degradation at all is likely to cost an arm and a leg. Or maybe both of each.
jaysung;410341 Wrote: > A friend of mine said that a main amp needs an apropriate driver (not > sure about my translation to English here) and most sources were to > weak to drive the main amp. Most modern sources (including Squeezeboxes and Transporters) produce output voltages high enough to drive most power amps. Unless you need additional gain, you don't need an active preamp. But as others have said in this (and many other) threads, you *must* use appropriate passive attenuation to get your basic gain staging correct. -- cliveb Transporter -> ATC SCM100A ------------------------------------------------------------------------ cliveb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=348 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=61821 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
