I wanted to start a thread to collate your experiences running DAC directly to Power amp with no preamp.
If we assume the DAC claims to have in-built pre-amplification i.e. quality attenuation + a strong output stage for example, Benchmark DAC2 and NAD M51. Also let's assume our components down the line are sufficiently sensitive as to not need too much gain. We can also assume we are only interested in two-channel audio and have only one source i.e. source selection capability not required. Under these conditions, is there any real benefit in inserting a preamp.
Here are some thoughts I have gathered mainly in support of having a preamp in the path:
- A preamp can add some positive colour to the sound
- A preamp will improve dynamics and transient capabilities
- With a preamp in, bad recordings appear not so bad
I can think of several advantages to not having a preamp but would really like your opinion as it seems many of us are opting to go direct these days.
Thanks!
If we assume the DAC claims to have in-built pre-amplification i.e. quality attenuation + a strong output stage for example, Benchmark DAC2 and NAD M51. Also let's assume our components down the line are sufficiently sensitive as to not need too much gain. We can also assume we are only interested in two-channel audio and have only one source i.e. source selection capability not required. Under these conditions, is there any real benefit in inserting a preamp.
Here are some thoughts I have gathered mainly in support of having a preamp in the path:
- A preamp can add some positive colour to the sound
- A preamp will improve dynamics and transient capabilities
- With a preamp in, bad recordings appear not so bad
I can think of several advantages to not having a preamp but would really like your opinion as it seems many of us are opting to go direct these days.
Thanks!