And I learned what had been missing: more body, textures, openness, separation of instruments, and warmth in varying degrees additions that yielded a considerably more musical presentation. My choice was the PS Audio BHK Signature ($6000)-with a tube front end. I could not put my finger on what exactly was lacking, but I decided to hunt about for a proper preamp (and one with many inputs, not just two). I began to notice at audio shows and at other audiophile homes where active preamps were widely used, they offered a sound quality my system lacked something more satisfying beyond just clean and transparent. I first tried using a passive preamp with more than one input they were touted as clean and transparent, generally do not require external power, and are much less expensive in general than active ones.
This is how things remained for some time.Įventually, as my reviewing interests expanded, I realized that I must get a proper preamplifier in order to easily and efficiently compare two or more similar devices by using different lines in and just switching the lines on a remote. I acquired a phono stage that, as an option and at the push of a button, converted the analog to digital on the fly (24/96 PCM, or DSD) and sent it via I2S to the DAC using an HDMI cable. It appeared that I was beaten.īut I was stubborn. When I finally decided to acquire a turntable, I became alarmed: I would also need a phono stage a second analog line input requirement seemed imminent. “Direct to amps” was what many had suggested and there even was a catchy ongoing mantra at the time, “The best preamp is no preamp”. The DAC had a built-in volume control, and I had not yet acquired a turntable-my old one from years earlier had fallen off a shelf abruptly ending its life. Over 10 years ago when I began to put together a more serious audio system with a DAC, I did not include a standalone preamplifier. The Schiit Audio Freya+ ( $949) is a passive or active, solid state or tube, balanced preamplifier.
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