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Best Preamp - NO preamp... (?)

A few hours ago I decided to experiment and bypassed my highly regarded, excellent passive preamp and hooked up my PS Audio DSD DAC directly to the power amp.
There is no going back...
Every aspect of the sound has improved so dramatically that I'm simply blown away. I'm a bit shocked, playing CD after CD and I still can't believe it.
My phono stage has gain control as well, so it seems that from now on it will be disconnecting RCAs and plugging each in turn.
Since I usually do vinyl day or cd day (or week) anyway, the trouble seems totally worth it. Letting the cable settle in for a bit is not an issue.
Am I just crazy or are any of you doing the same?
Should I be concerned about damaging  the RCAs over time?
Thanks for your thoughts and experience. :-)
ami
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Removing the preamp is not the only road to clarity. I almost always have two preamps in the signal chain.. (opposite of what the op wants, instead of none, I add a second one) The main downside on no preamp is digital grunge. The first DAC/Player I have found without any digital grunge cost me $7000 and it STILL sounds better through a tube preamp. I just bought a used Conrad Johnson ACT 2 to use just as a fancy tube buffer for my digital.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
I almost always have two preamps in the signal chain
(opposite of what the op wants, instead of none, I add a second one)


https://youtu.be/RmyucZa6wD0?t=4
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
Wouldn’t three preamps be better?
ami's avatar
ami OP
62 posts
 
@geoffkait and how about a speaker switcher unit for better kicks?
lancelock
625 posts
 
My new preamp has has improved the sound of my amp by leaps and bounds. No question that using a preamp in this case is an improvement.

https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/#home

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