Why is a pre amp and power amp better than integrated amp?

[admin_exported]

Just asking this question guys because I am wondering whether I should sell the NAD C352 at some point and invest in an integrated, or buy a pre and power amp, or buy a power amp, to go with the NAD integrated amp, any thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

A pre/power combination isn't necessarily better than an integrated amp at all.

 

[Anonymous]

Pre/power isn't necessarily better than an integrated. It all comes down to the design and the care taken to separate conflicting components. For example, the care taken to keep power supplies away from signal circuitry, avoiding noise contamination. The care taken to shield things like phono stages from power supplies. A good integrated will probably have entirely separate transformers and PSUs for the pre and power sections, in fact probably two for the power left and right!

 

[Anonymous]

Just as a slight digression, I've been wandering what are the respective roles of the pre and power amplifier?

 

[jaxwired]

I like the flexability it provides. Allowing mixing and matching from different manufacturers. An integrated necessitates one brand for pre and power. Also, many manufacturers put their best efforts into separates. The separate pre/power often represents their best engineering.

 

[jaxwired]

Castroman:Just as a slight digression, I've been wandering what are the respective roles of the pre and power amplifier?

To be as simple as possible, the pre-amps job is to handle switching between sources (CD vs TurnTable vs TAPE) and adjuste the signal volume. It can also adjust the signal balance and tone.

The amps job is to take the one and only selected signal and amplify it to levels appropriate for speakers.

Completely separate jobs, often combined into 1 unit called an integrated amplifier.

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:

Castroman:Just as a slight digression, I've been wandering what are the respective roles of the pre and power amplifier?

To be as simple as possible, the pre-amps job is to handle switching between sources (CD vs TurnTable vs TAPE) and adjuste the signal volume. It can also adjust the signal balance and tone.

The amps job is to take the one and only selected signal and amplify it to levels appropriate for speakers.

Completely separate jobs, often combined into 1 unit called an integrated amplifier.

Just the explanation I was looking for, ta!