I find it fascinating if true, it means that the preamp is not solved. If a new digital preamp is not better or same as the expensive old once yet. Well I still not know why but it would explain the ridiculous high prices these preamps have today. A power amp you can buy for 100$ that costed 1000$ but a preamp not chance.
You mustn't forget people's perceptual biases. Without a guided and blinded test, the result is more likely to reflect wishful thinking than reality.
The best preamplifier is no preamplifier at all.
Assuming the match between source and amplifier is perfect, a preamplifier can't improve anything, and at best, it won't make it worse.
Anyone who believes otherwise has missed fundamental concepts about music and physics, or they're a believer in fairy tales.
The primary function of a preamplifier is to amplify the source signal sufficiently to drive the power amplifiers, at least up to the desired volume. The second function is volume control, and the third is the ability to switch between different sources.
Everything after that is just unnecessary bells and whistles, and often useless baggage.
But why do you need a preamplifier these days with most digital sources? Actually, you don't.
With the D200, SMSL has taken exactly the right approach. DACs already output the signal with the necessary amplification. Therefore, the DAC only needs an analog volume control with an analog output stage (buffer), just like any good preamplifier, and that's precisely what you'll find in the D200.
Analog devices, such as a high-quality turntable with a phono preamp or a tape recorder, can be connected to the D200 losslessly using an affordable and good ADC.
In my circle of acquaintances and friends, several really expensive preamplifiers have had to make way for a D200 with an ADC, even those costing more than 30 times as much. The latter had some initial reservations, but the blind test was convincing enough.
