Any thoughts on removing a preamp from your system

I think Charles1dad put it right:
"over time and continued listening it's
apparent that the sound is leaner and lacking the complete sonic picture"
My experience too, even with the Aesthetix Io upgraded to Eclipse status. Very clear, but a bit washed out - my speakers sounded slow, until I got a good preamp.
Why? The preamp is "the heart of the system" isn't it?

O_holter, It seems to me that preamp is stomach rather than heart. No stomach, you can only use intestine:-)

Could be right Czarivey. Or the back bone, I am thinking, since I have a prolapsis now. Whatever the analogy, it is central. Listening now to the integrated Ming Da Mc-34a amp and Aurum Cantus speakers at my cottage. It can't compare to my main rig, but it does very well, at its level, and one reason is that there is no preamp problem. The preamp is integrated, well-tuned to the main amp, in one box. When we go for bigger, more specialized systems, we have to work out more of the system synergy ourselves.

From what a member has sent me O_holter, I don't think the 34A has an active preamp in it.
Both the Ming Da MC34A and MC34B are very similar and are poweramps with a 100kohm passive volume control and input switching on the input.
The B costs $100 more as it has triode switchability and uses 6L6 instead of EL34. See the circuit diagram with just the 100kohm passive pot on the input tube to the poweramp input tube.

http://www.pastisch.se/EF/Ming%20Da%20MC34B%20schematic%20mod%201.gif

Cheers George

I used to have creek 4340 integrated amp that had passive line stage. Once I've acquired Bryston .5b pre and connected into the chain instead of passive, I immediately noticed what was missing!