A dedicated preamp in 2023...?

[SIY]

That's just my opinion, not picking fights with platinum ears here. :-D

My lead ears can't hear the noise from a CD, much less something a few ten thousand times lower.

 

[mcdn]

I don't doubt you at all, but why? Even 8 bits give you 256 volume level steps (I know it is not linear, simplifying here) without impacting Red Book 96dB signal-to-noise the least. That said, yes, you are correct, that is state-of-art stuff. It's just I find it funny audiophiles seem to obsess about such things with digital volume control... while never seeming to worry about the potential issues of analog preamps, which are probably one of the most complex analog devices if designed to provide total signal integrity.

Because digital truncation creates horrible artefacts, so the signal needs to be multiplied and dithered. And 32 bit floating point has terrible accuracy at the extreme ends of its scale, so 64 bits is preferred nowadays, often fixed point. So a digital volume control might go 16bit digital to 64 bit fixed point, scale, convert to 16 bit and then dither.

 

[Snix]

Thanks for lots of opinions!

I had a "small" curiosity of pre-amping the signal vs the loss between connections etc, but I digress.

Seems like 99.9% if anyone ever want a preamp nowadays are for its functions (vol/inputs/tone).

On the side note I have 2xLA90D connect directly to DX7 Pro...

Good thing that most fully balanced preamps are too expensive to buy and play with aimlessly
or else I might commit a heresy and pick up a "tube" preamp just for the heck of it
(/jk don't burn me )

 

[ErVikingo]

Thanks for lots of opinions!

I had a "small" curiosity of pre-amping the signal vs the loss between connections etc, but I digress.

Seems like 99.9% if anyone ever want a preamp nowadays are for its functions (vol/inputs/tone).

On the side note I have 2xLA90D connect directly to DX7 Pro...

Good thing that most fully balanced preamps are too expensive to buy and play with aimlessly
or else I might commit a heresy and pick up a "tube" preamp just for the heck of it
(/jk don't burn me )

Do it! I have one and enjoy it! Had tube analogs, went solid state, went digital and back to tube analog. To my ears and on my system it is great. Its a hobby enjoy it!

 

[JohnnyNG]

The fact that Topping sees a market for one is quite telling. They look to sell in volume.

 

[Snix]

Do it! I have one and enjoy it! Had tube analogs, went solid state, went digital and back to tube analog. To my ears and on my system it is great. Its a hobby enjoy it!

(I have a separate tube amp setup but don't let anyone around here know it.... shhhhhhhh)

 

[melvinjames]

I recently decided to put together another inexpensive system for a small room and had this very same question. I’ll be using an SMSL SU-6 DAC which has the volume/remote functions I need but no sub-out. I opted to go with a preamp, the Schiit Saga S, which conveniently has 2 pre-outs. According to FedEx it should arrive tomorrow. Should be a fun weekend (I hope).

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I would say it depends on the budget.
Volume can indeed be set on DACs... I do not like this method. It is not reliable. And accidents are serious, costly and potentially dangerous to our hearing.
and..
if one has multiple sources, a way to switch these and control volume is required.
Under $1000.oo, I would look into one of those "preamps"... I am not too knowledgeable on these but these exist.. Topping? SMSL?
Over this thousand...
I'd start my search with an AVR with pre-out e.g. those from Denon/Marantz... those are usually over $1000.oo. These come with everything, including Bass Management, Source Switching and, to me most importantly Digital Room Correction, DIRAC or the highest level (XT32?) of Audyssey + MultEQ-X. That would bring the budget around $1200.oo minimum for a Denon X-3600H + MultEQ-X... or higher. And .. just in case they also come with some spare amplifiers..


Peace.

 

[Joe Smith]

I recently decided to put together another inexpensive system for a small room and had this very same question. I’ll be using an SMSL SU-6 DAC which has the volume/remote functions I need but no sub-out. I opted to go with a preamp, the Schiit Saga S, which conveniently has 2 pre-outs. According to FedEx it should arrive tomorrow. Should be a fun weekend (I hope).

Interested in how you like the Saga. I am thinking of a future Vidar/Saga combination for a main system in the near future...

 

[AaronJ]

Schiit's Saga S and Freya S are by far the best-value products they offer.

 

[Snix]

I recently decided to put together another inexpensive system for a small room and had this very same question. I’ll be using an SMSL SU-6 DAC which has the volume/remote functions I need but no sub-out. I opted to go with a preamp, the Schiit Saga S, which conveniently has 2 pre-outs. According to FedEx it should arrive tomorrow. Should be a fun weekend (I hope).

Case in point, this is the exact situation which made me opted for D-6 instead of SU-6 for my sub system.
Since DA6 has 2 outputs and I'm confident my lead ears can't tell the diff between the 2

 

[Snix]

Volume can indeed be set on DACs... I do not like this method. It is not reliable. And accidents are serious, costly and potentially dangerous to our hearing.
and..
if one has multiple sources, a way to switch these and control volume is required.

Totally agreed.
That's why I'll (almost) always have one analog potentiometer in each system.
In this case the LA90 has one.

 

[rwortman]

If you became an audiophile during a time when a hi-fi system was for more than streaming digital files from a computer, you might still want a preamp. In my system the following sources need routed to my 2 channel power amp. L/R from AVR, turntable, internet radio, music server PC, universal optical disc player, any device I might be testing via my patch bay. Outputs go to the power amp, powered sub, and USB recording interface. I don’t use most of that capability much and if I was dead broke I could dispense with most of it and not use a preamp. I am not and I like having the ability to play all my available sources and to occasionally make a digital transfer of an LP without moving wires around. Therefore I have a nice preamp. Besides the speakers, it’s my favorite component.

 

[wgb113]

There’s absolutely still room for a preamp in 2023 for those of us with numerous digital and analog sources. Many modern preamps also have competent DACs built in and can offer things like DRC that most DACs do not.

 

[Talisman]

Mi

 

[Joe Smith]

I keep hoping that Schiit will update the Saga S to have an optional phono module/slot, so that one would not need to have a separate phono preamp, requiring its own Wall-Wart power.

 

[Jim Creek]

My Pre90 has a DAC in the balanced input and a phono preamp in the single ended RCA. So, yes, I still have a need for a preamp.

 

[sq225917]

Like Jim I need one to level match vinyl and digital. But it also let's me use the dac in its sweet spot