preamp vs. no-preamp

I agree with Tim, I have always prefered the sound of running the CD player direct, even Wadia. Unless you have the ability to spend a lot of money I don't think you can get better sound with a preamp and CD player than you will get with the Audio Aero Captiole Mk 2. I have tried a Pass Labs preamp on my Capitole and easily prefered the sound of the Capitole run direct.

Tim an Elrod EPS 2 sig might just be the answer to your woes.

I'll stick in the pro preamp camp. Although I don't think I ever went direct from CDP to amp (I've always had too many sources), I did experiment in the early 90's with passive preamps. I didn't care for them overall. They were very revealing, but they did sound thin and bass shy. I've been back on active preamps for over 8 years. I currently use 6 sources, so I need a preamp. I'm sure in the right system a CDP driving the amp straight may sound pretty good, but then how would I play my LP's?

Regards,
John

I threw a Creek passive in my system while the tube preamp is out for repair, and it sounds remarkably good. However, I am missing some body and it is a little thin. Is my preamp worth the price difference? To many it may not be, but to others it would be. I still think a good active preamp is preferable to passive. Frankly, the detail is not that much better than the active.

Every passive preamp I have tried has cut down on both dynamics/microdynamics and resolution/detail. They all tended to put a veil on the music that was not good at all.

One thing about live music is that it is dynamic. If there is one sin I cannot forgive in a component is lack of dynamics. I can forgive something sounding a little more dynamic than it should in certain areas of the frequency spectrum, but lack of dynamics is a pretty big audio sin...

I will say this Saxo, many tube preamps are not the end all in resolution by a long shot. Many solid state preamps are not either. There are not a whole lot of excellent preamps be them tube or SS made.

I must admit that I have not tried some of the state of the art passives of today. Not too many companies make passive preamps to begin with.... This should tell us something about them. Good ideas tend to be copied in the audio world. If a technology works well people will build it and refine it.

I really WANT to know what Capitole uses to regulate volume. If it's regulation is as good as Tireguy says, they should make a preamp with the same technology (maybe they do, I have not done the research).

KF

Passive's are not "preamps". A "passive" is simply a "line level attenuator" that may also function as a "line level switchbox" if it has multiple inputs. While one could argue that it is a technically a "pre-amplifier" because it is before the amplifier, the name "preamplifier" came about as there was a need for amplification prior ( or "pre" ) the final gain stages of a high level amplifier. As such, a "preamp" was "amping the signal prior to the main amp".

Let's get the terminology right, stick to it and use it accordingly. Either that, or you'll all be forced to write a 5000 word essay on the subject. Preamp's have a gain stage : ) Sean
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PS... Don't get me started about buffered units. All hell would break loose then : )