Time to Go All In? - Getting a Digital Preamp

[MikeT.]

This might be an “all-in” preamp options. I didn’t check the price though. Probably steep....

818v3 Reference Audio Core | Meridian Audio

The highest performance two-channel preamplifier and Sooloos end-point manufactured by Meridian.

www.meridian-audio.com

 

[Gene_StL]

And while they are at it not only a digital out put but they could also put a digital input before the D/A. Of course that's easy for us to say I suppose. "Sometimes you just have to shoot the engineer, and start making something" 😄 ( re the Puffin)

 

[prime minister]

Sure, in the sense of it does the job correctly without self-contribution.

One of the great differentiators I have found between good and great phono preamps is speed and dynamics. Most phono preamps, especially the lnexpensive ones, just don't capture the dynamics of a cartridge, and a record, well. Dynamics, and speed, are the areas where doing the processing and amplification in the digital domain should pay huge dividends.

I didn't know what I was missing in this regard until I started dabbling with higher end phono preamps, and the ASR really showed me what was possible.