Any thoughts on removing a preamp from your system

I have to join the chorus and say if you're dealing with a "high"
quality active preamp the sound will be superior. Initially direct or passive
may seem more transparent but over time and continued listening it's
apparent that the sound is leaner and lacking the complete sonic picture
(tone, body, emotion and information). Jaxwired hearing more transparency
with his active preamp isn't a surprise. Top notch active preamplifiers are
essential to achieve the best sound from a system IMHO. Lots of listeners
have tried to eliminate the active but eventually realized that their sound
suffered in its absence.
Charles,

I admire Al's technical knowledge as well but what do you expect him to say? This is strictly an individual case by case situation. A number of people have auditioned the Lightspeed, some love it and some preferred their active preamplifier. It comes down to what you hear and choose as better. There's no technical explanation to account for the variance in choice. If Al uses/ prefers passive or active it's still his personal decision based on actually listening, not some technical theory. I find tubes better sounding than solid state in general. I don't require a theory to decide, I just listen. The same is true of those listeners who prefer transistors.
Charles,

Hi John,
Very nice post concerning your individual encounters with various system
configurations. My experiences parallel yours but I disagree on one point
you made.You aren't hearing more transparency with direct or passive
alternatives, just leaner and diluted sound that lacking vital music
information. The full body and tone you realize was missing is abundantly
present with live music. Listen to a live cello, saxaphone, piano, trumpet
etc. The colors, harmonics, richness and vibrancy of tone is crucial to
music. Any audio component that strips way those natural characteristics
is doing a disservice to the complete musical true. A tenor sax heard live is
so rich and full you could can its tone "fat"(I just heard one 3
days ago in a club, he was unmiked, pure and natural). IMO this so called
transparency you mentioned is fake. You'll never hear this from live
acoustic instruments. They possess big tone, fullness and dramatic
dynamic energy. In the past 3 months I've attended 14 live jazz
performances and these essential qualities are clearly evident and make for
a devine and emotional experience every time. John your active preamp
does a superior job of "retaining" those realistic cues although it still won't
match the live sound. It will get you closer than if you eliminate it from your
system.
Charles,