My current preamp is a DIY model that I would say is on par with commercial ones in the $4k to $10K range. Using the SB3 direct to the power amp,even with the digital volume control, sounds sinificantly better than using the preamp.
Thats not to say the digital volume ontrol is perfect, I CAN hear a slight degradation in sound when running below 40, but its still significantly better than with the preamp in circuit. I'm not sure whether its the analog volume control (stepped attenuator with very good resistors), the active circuitry or the extra set of interconnects and connectors. (or a combination of all the above). One of these days I'm going to try the stepped attenuator on the input to the power amp and see how that effects things. (its nice to have everything DIY, its easy to make tests like that) I was rather surprised by those results, the current preamp is significantly better than any other preamp I've had in my system (incuding several pasive pres), but it was a real eye-opener (ear-opener?) to hear the direct connect. John S. -- JohnSwenson ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JohnSwenson's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5974 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27275 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
