Preamplifier: Yes or NO ?

As to the SUBSTANCE of mrtennis's assertion :that a tubed pre might be helpful in decreasing digital fatigue due to the poor execution of most digital, there may be some truth in it. Assuming proper execution ( low noise from source component) and excellent extraction of information ( cutting edge DAC's etc.) there is still a "digital" sound which is ameliorated by various output stage strategies. A TAS roundtable once brought up sibilance ( a real microphone artifact) being lessened by tubes and did this mean that tubes "smear" ( alter/color) the sound to a more pleasing one ? I think it is not a coincidence that Alexs'(APL) latest creations use low noise/error components, a dizzying array of DACs ( high info extraction) and then a TUBED output stage. Is this because tubes are more accurate than solid state( true to the ones and zeros as they come off the disc ) or because they sound better because digital is an imperfect medium in reproducing what sounds like live music ? I don't pretend to know the answer but it might be that in the absense of such an output strategy a tube preamp might improve the quality of sound and decrease digital fatigue even if it is not more "accurate" in the strictest sense of the word. - Jim

+1 votes for pre-amps.

I would also note its not just a matter of impedance matching. I have a dCS Delius that, at least according to the specs, should have had no problems driving my ARC VT100s. But, I had the classic "no pre-amp" problems--music lost punch, dynamics. I slapped in an ARC LS-8 and the world became much better.

YMMV.

Preamp all the way... I've owned the Wadia 27ix and it never sounded good unless I had a preamp in the chain... more body, more emotive, etc. I also recently heard the Meitner front-end both directly to the amp and with a pre- in the mix... again, the preamp adds just that extra palpability that makes music sound like music.

Just my preferences.

Kevin

Thank you very much for your answer and recomendations.

Yes - just take care of source-amp sinergy (Voltage, impendance, etc..) I run my Accuphase CDP directly to my amps, no problems, better transparency, resolution, etc.