To Preamplify or not to Preamplify...that is the question.

[cma29]

Originally Posted by myjazz123

Here is my 2 sents. I run my esoteric k-01 direct to my krell 302e and love the sound. As it was well explained before in this thread, one of the keys to a better sound when running direct is output DAC or cd player’s impedance that must match to the input impedance of the amplifier ( lowest number form the DAC to the highest number of the amp). Another factor that becomes very important when running direct – is the quality of the DAC and quality of ICs and power coming in. I tired the following pre-amplifiers in my set-up: Esoteric c-03 and ARC ref 5se. The esoteric c-03 did not add or change anything in the sound, and ARC 5se made everything sounded bigger but with less air and details and less intimate. After all I preferred K-01 direct as it gave me most balanced sound. Both of those pre-amp retail around 13k and I think the pre-amp may sound better in the system but it should be a very expensive one. I can spend 3 times less and for around $5k can buy a great ICs that make my cdp direct to amp sound even better.

My thoughts exactly. This is the route I seem to be heading with my K-03 and XA100.5s....

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

I will play around. I actually bought two kimber hero xlr's which is connected now. Ill try the aq king cobra and see what I notice.

Any updates?

[Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by prepress

Any updates?

I forgot to try. Let me see if I can wrangle us some time to try this.

[bzr]

Too funny. Just a thought that I thought I'd mention for people that have 20.7's. A very good preamp can deliver some very impressive bass from these panels, then again, your miles may increase to find out which one....

[cma29]

Originally Posted by bzr

Too funny. Just a thought that I thought I'd mention for people that have 20.7's. A very good preamp can deliver some very impressive bass from these panels, then again, your miles may increase to find out which one....

I drive my 20.7s without a preamp. The sound is immediate, lush, natural, detailed, transparent and full. The bass seems fine to me.

In the future I may try out a Pass Labs preamp to see what it does. Theoretically it should not do anything except regulate voltage levels going to amps, so then why bother?

[russell]

Don't bother.

[bzr]

Originally Posted by cma29

I drive my 20.7s without a preamp. The sound is immediate, lush, natural, detailed, transparent and full. The bass seems fine to me.

In the future I may try out a Pass Labs preamp to see what it does. Theoretically it should not do anything except regulate voltage levels going to amps, so then why bother?

Originally Posted by russell

Don't bother.

Gee guys, right on cue!
All I can relate to is real world experience where I have heard in my own system, the difference was obvious not only to me but to all in the room. Maybe it's just my preamp.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by cma29

I drive my 20.7s without a preamp. The sound is immediate, lush, natural, detailed, transparent and full. The bass seems fine to me.

In the future I may try out a Pass Labs preamp to see what it does. Theoretically it should not do anything except regulate voltage levels going to amps, so then why bother?

Hi Carlos,

I found when I added the XP-30 to my system, the positives were added dynamics and control. The XP-30 significantly improved the bass response of my Salon 2, faster, tighter and more robust and did a better job controlling my speakers throughout the frequency range. The negatives were that the XP-30 is so resolving, it sees everything in the chain and sometimes this isn't a good thing. Adding the power conditioner and power cord went a long way to correcting this and really smoothed out the treble. Next stop will be new interconnects and power cords for my K-01 and XP-30.

I will say that I really enjoyed the sound of the K-01 running directly to the XA-100.5 monoblocks. I can't say one bad thing about it. Purity, timbres were very accurate and tremendous intimacy. Esoteric's variable linestage is one of the best out there.

Best,
Ken

[cma29]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Hi Carlos, I found when I added the XP-30 to my system, the positives were added dynamics and control. The XP-30 significantly improved the bass response of my Salon 2, faster, tighter and more robust and did a better job controlling my speakers throughout the frequency range. The negatives were that the XP-30 is so resolving, it sees everything in the chain and sometimes this isn't a good thing. Adding the power conditioner and power cord went a long way to correcting this and really smoothed out the treble. Next stop will be new interconnects and power cords for my K-01 and XP-30. I will say that I really enjoyed the sound of the K-01 running directly to the XA-100.5 monoblocks. I can't say one bad thing about it. Purity, timbres were very accurate and tremendous intimacy. Esoteric's variable linestage is one of the best out there. Best, Ken

Thanks for your insights, Ken.

The XP-30 sounds transformational. Once I'm done with the tweaks including room treatment, power conditioning and power cables, I'll look into a preamp again. It might become the capstone to all this effort.

In the meantime, the K-03 line stage is doing a fine job driving the monoblocks.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by cma29

Thanks for your insights, Ken.

The XP-30 sounds transformational. Once I'm done with the tweaks including room treatment, power conditioning and power cables, I'll look into a preamp again. It might become the capstone to all this effort.

In the meantime, the K-03 line stage is doing a fine job driving the monoblocks.

Carlos,

In many ways the XP-30 is a transformational component. Its transparency and resolution are stunning. But it makes you work for it. When I described some of the issues I was having to Mark Sammut, he suggested that I should consider going with the XP-20 instead. The XP-20 is a terrific preamp but less transparent and detailed than the XP-30. However, it is more forgiving and will integrate into a system more easily than the XP-30. I actually almost did this but then I reconsidered and decided to work on correcting what the XP-30 was exposing. It's been educational and now that I'm making headway, I am very pleased with my decision.

Best,
Ken