A tubed pre-amp can/does produce much more natural sounding music than CD direct to amp, IMO. My 6 tube pre-amp adds liquidity, warmth, body, and richness, and all these things are properties of live music-- and I've played guitars-- both acoustic and amplified for 40 years.
Soundstaging may be an artifact of stereo imaging, but I like it, and I like it a LOT, and tubes do it better than anything else I've heard. But on balance, it really comes down to personal preferences. I like tubed pre-amps. Cheers. Craig
Soundstaging may be an artifact of stereo imaging, but I like it, and I like it a LOT, and tubes do it better than anything else I've heard. But on balance, it really comes down to personal preferences. I like tubed pre-amps. Cheers. Craig