2. amps-preamps
  3. 1239423685

connectng CD player directly to amp, good or bad?

Some CD players with volume control can be connected directly to power amp, bypassing pre-amp. Mark Levinson 39 and Mcintosh 301 can do that. When I mentioned this to sales reps at dealers, they were all skeptical. They said pre-amp/amp is always better or go for int-amp. I am not s sure. Mcintosh manual shows how to connect CD player to power amp directly and it makes better sense for me since I am not going to have any other source unit. If I need more later, I can always add pre-amp. Is pre-amp really necessary?
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Showing 1 response by buff

buff's avatar
buff
210 posts
 
In some situations the direct connection of CDP to amp will give better resolution of fine details. Some consider this to be a more pure approach.

The preamp system will likely give better dynamic performance with more slam and impact.

Those are generalities which may not apply to every system.

Try it and see, if you get a pre you can always sell if you don't need it and it will be fun to learn the differences and pros/cons in YOUR system!
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