Is no preamp really better that a good preamp?

If you are interested in Cary, skip the SLP-03 and go to the SLP-05, which can be purchased used for less than $5K. It is a huge step up from the slp-03 or sli-80.

I can understand where Georgelofi is coming from. He is from the camp that less is more and he is not alone in his thinking. There are many people on this website that would agree with him. Once upon a time I went that path myself. Yes there was more detail, transparency improved, musicaly engaging, no. It is our own fault that many of our own systems are starting to sound sterile, maybe we audiophiles are expecting too much from them.

Rustler, I don't think Andrew9405 was rude at all but his opinions are appreciated.

Phd, yes the "less is more" is they way to go if you have a well sorted system.

But if there is a problem area that needs to be fixed, then by adding the right preamp that can tame or accentuate that problem area, then yes by adding the preamp that has those colourations in that area then it can be a pseudo fix.
Good luck on finding the right preamp, as they all sound different, in different areas.

Audio enthusiasts, reviewers, and even manufactures have allways said as far as I can remember, "the prefect preamp" should sound "like a straight wire with gain" which funnily enough is the direct in approach with no preamp.

But I'm of the school that looks at the problem area and changing to or modding the component that causing it, not by adding another one into the signal path chain to gloss it over.

Cheers George

George,
I agree with you that one should "....look at the problem area and changing to or modding the component that causing it, not by adding another one into the signal path chain to gloss it over."

Take my problem for instance. My Esoteric K-01 can sound a bit cool but other than this problem alone, everything else in my system chain I find highly satisfactory. Since I like the overall sound of the K-01 and my system, and do not wish to change any component for big financial reasons, finding a preamp that warms things up a bit to neutral, is just what I need to fix this problem. One may consider this an acceptable solution. It's all about system synergy. It's like an audio reviewer describing the sound of a component under review and then advising what other component to match it with, be it source, amp, speakers, cables, etc.

Cheers! J.

"finding a preamp that warms things up a bit to neutral, is just what I need to fix this problem."

You have hi-end components, and I think that's going to cost big time and a lot of A/Bing preamps just to warm the sound over and maybe loose transparency and detail in the process.

Better off trying to warm it up in other ways that are cheaper, like changing any silver cable/s for OFC Copper ones or change and sell the component that has the "cool" sound to a warmer sounding one. Your pocket will thank you.

Cheers George