I recently bought a Meridian 518 as a de-jitter device and volume control for my 24-bit-upgraded Meridian 563, and took out my Audible Illusions Mod 3 from the chain. I have 3 superb amps - a Plinius SA 100 MK II with MK III wiring, a CJ Premiere 11a, and a BAT VK 200. I had previously shelved the BAT because it was too soft, but just recently also got a pair of Harmonic Tech 9 speaker cables - which mate gorgeously with the BAT. Anyway, the dynamics and bass of both the Plinius and CJ died, but the BAT, driven with balanced interconnects, became absolutely magical! Full range of dynamics, pinpoint imaging, gobs of detail, and deep bass! Just check you dynamics - it's usually what suffers without a preamp. By the way, my speakers are Proac Response 3.5's. Steve
Sound without the Preamp ?
I thought I posted this before, but can't find it so here goes. I need some help here. I removed my tubed preamp and plugged the balanced interconnects directly from the 2 tube monoblocks directly to an Accuphase CD player with volume control. A weird thing happened. The sound got better, more transparent, deeper and tighter base. I find this indded strange because, this tube preamp is one of the industry's heavyweights, with a price to prove it too. Am I just "hearing things " ??