Preamp or Not


System:
Speakers: B&W 802D
AMP: 2 Plinius SA100 MKIII used as mono
Preamp: Musical Fidelity need upgrade to BAT or Pass Labs?
Source: Arcam fmj CD37

I have bunch of other good equipment in my theater room. The above are my 2-channel audio only set up. I have been thinking of upgrading my pre and CDP because they have no XLR connections. They sound very good but I'd like to use the balance connections. I just found an Esoteric SA50 player which apparently can be connected to the amplifier directly, therefore, eliminating the need for a preamp.

Question:

Since I have a very high gain amp and some external distortion and noise issues, would I be better off with a preamp and a source or just go directly from source to the amps. If there are no setbacks with this kind of set up, I can eliminate one component and save some $ in the process.

I would love to hear from members with similar experience and/or familiar with Esoteric SA50.
espoverload

Showing 1 response by 4est

I doubt that the change from rca>xlr will help. I think that the pros of xlr are over hyped. In theory they are certainly better. In reality it may not make a bit of difference. In my system, the cable it's self makes more of a difference than the type of connections. YMMV