I like the way he explains things: friendly & relaxed

Please, can someone give this man an award? I never heard talk and explain someone about audio as that much interesting stories. Will use this channel to learn but also fall sleep (: Congratulations

Perhaps the best description of what a preamp is for that I have seen.

Paul has an immense skill in explaining very complex issues related to sound production and bringing it to a level that most can understand. Being an audiophile of many years these KZfaq clips has definately futher my interest and understanding. Thanks!!

This guy is great! I didnt know what i didnt know about pre amps. I very much enjoyed learning a little about them from this fellow.

Tall you are a wealth of knowledge about everything high-end audio I could sit and listen to you speak countless hours in a row I'm glad you have a KZfaq channel

There's a twinkle in Paul's eyes every time he says "Pot"

I love these vids that seem like a silly question, but aren't and Paul can pull from the history he has to answer with technical information that matters. Thanks!

Yes, I found the same thing 30 years ago. The BK system of volume control is the best way to go, second is resistor based . The Bryston is a fine preamp.

Good explanation on volume control in less than 7min. I'm currently after a Benchmark LA4. Cheers!

Good morning Paul, I've been in cable TV industry for about 30 years. started off as a cable TV installer then service tech then maintenance tech (a maintenance tech is the guy in the bucket truck that works on the whole neighborhood if you will). Then I got into management but I tell you that to say, working on those amplifiers to feed the neighborhoods for cable signal and all the things we have to do to make sure you get gigabytes speed. all the circuitry involved in those amplifiers turning fiber light into RF signal. The price of a BHK preamplifier is hanging on a lot of pole in your city. While I was in management I had to order inventory so I know how much those amplifiers on those poles cost so I understand to engineer something that's great as a BHK its going to cost a lot of money. And take it from the cable guy, "cables matter everyone". just the temperature of a cable will determined the attenuation of our signal, certain size cable determine how much signal I'm going to get on my output, we have to oscillate and shield our cable in order for you guys not to experience interference so you can get that gigabyte speed you want on your internet. And the hardest part of our job is to make sure we have a -50 dB noise floor throughout the whole infrastructure of our network. Cable matters more than you think ok, I'm rambling again. By the way I'm watching too many of your videos because I called my wife Terry twice at the dinner table. Lol have a great day

A great question and and a great answer. Excellent!

Amazing. Thanks Paul!

Thanks for the explanation.

Absolutely love these explanation videos!

I like the way you explain things.

Fantastic explanation 👍

I love your videos there is always something I can learn.

Impedance is so important. So many sound "engineers" nowadays don't know their electronics. Many things is made simple but things go down hill when you start assuming everything goes. Worse when those advices are passed on in the forums... ☺️

I really like your videos. You can learn so many things

La mejor intro a los preamps, gracias maestro, saludos de Argentina

I have very fond memories of my PS Audio 4.6 preamp from 1989..... It had passive and active modes, and what Paul describes is exactly what I experienced. Passive was super transparent, but lacking some oomph. Kicking in the gain gave it life and dynamics, at the loss of some transparency. Sadly it had some reliability issues, noisy switches, and also was not remote control. I switched to an Adcom preamp. I liked the Adcom fine, but it was never as sweet sounding as the PS.

I don't know why this video was recommended to me but now I need to know everything about preamps.

IMO Paul did a very good job describing this.. Bravo Paul

Paul, You are the best bro. I will get your PS audio direct stream. Love the way you represent things. Love you bro. Much love and success to you Paul.

Speaking of high quality (and therefore expensive) preamps sitting in front of a vintage Studer desk is a convincing way of do it !

The last time I watched a video like this, I was off scouring the far reaches of the web, all in search for anything I could find about making your own voltage regulators. I was interested in a regulator that I could really drain the current from, since commercially available regulators max out at about one Ampere. I find the man who found the same rabbit hole before me and did the real digging. His name is Walt Jung and he did more than build a discrete regulator. He ran multiple regulators of differing topographies through whatever paces he could and wrote some good papers and probably even won an honorary degree or three, dubbing him the Grand Poo-Bah of discreet voltage regulators. I still have yet to try out any of his regulators, having discovered the linear power supplies of Condor, International, and Power One. Which all three seem to be the same power supplies made in Oxnard and yet they go by three different names. So now I’m gonna be off searching probably about the potential of wiring my own transformers, maybe?! THANKS FOR SHARING!!

Amazing video. I learnt so much .

Very good answer from the kindest man in Audio IMO. Mark Levinson ML-7 pre-amplifier did obtain this balance between straight wire with pot (very expensive Spectrol Series 100 wirewound and later very expensive Penny +Giles RF15 plastic conductive) and bufferstage. One of the best (old) pre-amps ever built and expensive also ($ 4,000.00 in 1981).

❤️❤️❤️❤️ I wouldn’t let go of my hand-built tube preamp for anything less than 500k. Love your videos Paul.

I love the passion in your voice when you explain everything, if it wasn't for you Paul the love affair I have with music would be mediocre at best! Hope to visit PS audio when we get the all clear from the CDC. Take care 🙂

Really excellent explanation.

A good phono stage is worth its weight in gold and doesn't have to break the bank. I use a NAD PP2e which retails for about £100 and it was a real game-changer for my TT. My Sony LX-300USB is at the lower end of the TT market but I wanted to persist with it because I prefer an automatic TT to manual. A separate phono stage and an elliptical stylus turned the weak, distortion-filled sound into punchy bass and detailed sound. If the separate phono stage hadn't worked out, I would have given up on this TT and gone for something a bit more upmarket but that little box makes a bigger difference than most people realise.

I love it when Paul gets riled up! 😅😅

Nicely said , love it

Nicely explained!! Thank you 😊

Very nice explanation.

very good description, I sure agree with him (and I often don't).

Spot on explanation, got it!

Now that's how you answer that one Paul, great answer.

I can sit here and just listen to Paul lecture for hours on end.

Quality will cost ya no matter the application. Thanks Mr. McGowan. Excellent explanation.

Thank you this was very informative

Love your humor!

I think I would feel much more comfortable getting an answer to this question from somebody who is not directly in the industry of selling preamps

It's called the PS Audio Source Preamp. With jumpers you could switch between passive and active. It was a kit. I built one. I still own it.

Paul, you're like the teacher on Welcome Back Carter I look forward to learning from you, like the characters in that show. When I see a new segment that song comes to mind. So, thanks Paul for the help and the smiles.

Love your explanations and their basis in facts supported by experience. That said, I also like your naturalness. I have to note that you must have just had a trim - the video pics out the cuttings on your shirt - just makes you human like all of us. :)

Dam you law of physics. It’s bad for my wallet.

Thanks for this video! I've been wondering the same myself for a lot of ourboard gear. Especially for 500-series gear where I/O and power supplies are already taken care of... I'm just really unsure where the price comes in. Passives are cheap. PCBs are cheap these days. Transformers cost a bit, but not hundreds generally. Watching now to find out!

I understand that in the analog world there are a lot of compromises to make and you need good quality materials. Recently I went from the Rotel RC1590 preamp (with a Minidsp AD-DA) stage between the speakers and subs) to a fully digital Minidsp Flex Balanced. Now the entire audio chain (until the output to the power amps) is digital. I noticed a very pleasant upgrade in sound quality, especially in the low end. At low volumes the bass frequencies are much more in balance than before, where at lower volumes it gets a bit flat. Isn't digital the best way to go nowadays? Digital sound (24/96) is absolutely fine, lots of headroom both in the dynamic as in the frequency department. You can pick the absolute original digital signal, process is to match the speakers/room/desired volume and at the very last stage convert it to analog and send it to the speakers? I do that now and I will never go back. This sounds very good to me and even the phantom center is now appearing to me, like the ochestra behind the speakers. I did not get that when using the analog preamp.

The USA made Schiit Freya and Freya + are highly praised in professional and user reviews and sell for $600 and $899 respectively.

That Studer 900 Series desk behind you has some very nice ... preamps! 🤓

Amazing, thanks!

Many thanks Paul

That Studer 900 series behind you is my dream console, I hope I can find one in a good condition someday

Cool, good stuff

thank you sir for this!!

i love the Studer Behind you

Hallelujah! Been searching for this holy grail for some time now....

Interesting explanation, thank you. Few people realize that every component adds 'color' to the signal, no matter how slight. And that coloration adds up................... Bill P.

i see you have the SSL six. love that thing!!!

Paul have two considered using battery supply for your input stage? My ASR Emitter has this design.

Pots also have a mismatch between the two signal levels due to a varied resistance between the two wiper paths. High end studio monitor controllers will typically use a relay network where each is connected to discrete resistors for repeatable volume levels and consistent stereo image.

I would like to know Paul's views on the ATC monitors behind him

To add a bit of old-school tech and 1950's style sci-fi, hook up your turntable to a pair of Variac transformers.

Thanks that was interesting

This is funny. For years I wondered how the input pots on my power amp would effect the performance, since a different setting give you a different impedance. The input pot setting for each side was slightly different on my power amp. So I was going to post a comment about that after watching the video. LOL

What's the painting over your right shoulder? I like it!

Curious. Can you use the speaker outs of a receiver (say left and right) to drive a couple of bass shakers while running all pre-outs to a separate amplifier?

Can you explain the approaches used in modern low cost preamps such as Midas or Focusrite?

Morning Paul, Are those ATC speakers, behind you?

So could you just bi amp and only use preamp on the woofers thus getting clean precise highs and meaty deep lows.

I had been using a DAC with variable output direct to my power amp. I just upgraded to a pre-amp in between, sounds quite a bit better

Listen, OLD MAN... Do you produce BANGERS on that gear?!

Very knowledgeable guy

I love what you do, Paul. You have a wealth of knowledge.

i remove my bhk pre the other day just to remember what the dac sounded like without it .and it defo sounded better with the pre installed.

Now I need pot. THANKS PAUL! :)

Very clean 2ch preamp (described as wire with gain) can be made with at most 150eur of material. Company THAT and some others sell dedicated ICs which are made to do this while sounding very well for what they are. Most high end preamps are about harmonic distortion they add, designers do search for clean sound but also carefully add coloration to it. People are paying too much for overcharges like marketing, shops, etc. Btw, huge companies like Behringer are buying known small companies with few employers to get even more $$$ than they have. Support designers and your pockets, buy directly from them.

Maestro Thanks!!!!

I'm gonna get riled up - I love it! Please explain a 1:1 impedance matching transformer please. :)

I wasn't crazy about the sound of your early PS Audio preamps from the 80s despite good but biased reviews by the high end press. I bought one and was severely disappointed; it sounded lean, dry and solid state as I recall. Your later products are of course much better.

I see the Gain Cell DAC is sold out. Are you going to make more of those? That would match well with the s300 right?

I have Roon. Should set the preamp volume to 100% and control the volume with Roon?

sorry about such a basic question : why do i even need a preamp ? is sound that bad when i just plug my dac output into the power amp ? i thought that any added element in the audio pipeline can only affect sound in bad way ?

the part that I struggle with is my system is only for 2 channel vinyl playback, and i don't need or want a bunch of source options i'll never use, and same with the phono stage, i'll never use the dozens of different cartridge loadings. Just want 1 reference level path for my TT

Talking of preamps.. Do people have opinions of that Emm-Labs preamp down on the wire rack, bottom left of shot? I have one I bought for a home studio, tested it worked but never brought it out again! I'd love to know how it compares to high-end for hifi use. Mine is a Mk 1, all flip switches and couple of knobs.

Cost can be categorized. Let's say 1. Audio circuitry 2. Componant quality 3. whiz bang features 4. Styling 5. Marketing 6. Economies of scale 7. Logistics and liability 8. Labor and compliance costs Generally 1 and 2 are the least costly give or take.

Paul, this maybe a little off subject but relatable. Looking of using an AVR without pre-outs : Can the speaker output of an AVR without pre-outs be fitted with an rca connector (both positive and negative) from each front channel and used as pre-outs to connect to a power amp? If so, are there any consequences?

component that make a clean sound.

Hi Paul, where are you in this video? Obviously it's a studio, but those lovely ATCs jumped out right at me! Would love to know what you think of ATC speakers!

There's almost always more than meets the eye in any product and high end pre-amps are no different. And ethe more esoteric the design the more issues have to be dealt with. All of that is true. However, there is another reason pre-amps can get so expensive and that is simply because they can be. A lot of people buying preamps are more dedicated music buffs and are willing to spend more money for better sound or at least the perception of better sound. Pre-amps are a must have when going to separate components and many an audiophile who goes that route will spend whatever they feel is needed to make their sonic dreams come true, within their budget, of course. Manufacturers know these people are willing to spend more so they can charge more. Same reason many integrated amps cost as much as they do. Yes, often the quality of a two thousand dollar integrated is better than that of an one thousand dollar AV receiver but very rarely is there a thousand dollars worth of aural difference. But someone who even knows what the difference between the two might be is someone that will spend the money for the slightest step up in audio quality and so they get the privileged of paying more. Not saying it's never worth it. Just saying that frequently when you are willing to step into more specialized areas of any hobby it's not always improved quality that makes items cost more.

I think Paul needs to get a whiteboard.

Of course, my first thought when reading the title was Why limit this question to pre-amps? However, Paul has summed it up succinctly, with an answer that can be loosely applied in general to all components. Unfortunately. Another question might be, why is it now possible to achieve a great sounding system for a fraction of the previous cost?

He nailed it.

If I understood correctly, with a very loo impedance source, say 100 Ohms, I could use a relatively low impedance pot, let's say 1 k, and get close to performance of a buffer. Does it make sense?

T-Pad attenuator could be fixed the impedance of in and out? and why we don't control the volume on the source output?

Hello Paul , with what amp are you driving your Atc speakers behind you ? Thanks

Paul, everything you said is true. It is also the reason why the conga line of mixing boards (like the one behind you) pollute the signal. @1:19 "...and it was extremely clean"... ...is lost when device after device, box after box, tweak after tweak, is manipulating the once "extremely clean" signal. I am not suggesting that zero processing be done. I am, however, suggesting that studios drill into their staff that they must give serious consideration to every urge to use yet another processing box. If every additional processing operation cost $10,000 then watch how fast they would manage to put out great sounding music, without all of the superfluous processing. Maybe the the music studios should operate like the Affordable Care Act, where government approval is needed for each additional mixing box the studio wants to use? That would surly cut back on all of the unnecessary processing operations. Considering how awful most of today's music sounds (it sounds artificial, compressed, congested, contrived), studios should consider requiring mixing engineers to seek approval for excessive processing. I hate adding red tape to the production line. But considering how bad most of today's recordings sound, the engineers have only themselves to blame for the extra hoops they will have to now deal with in the approval process. In any other industry, if quality control was found to be lacking, management would take steps to remedy the problem. It seems that recording studios have an exemption carved out for them in the standards and practices that are upheld in nearly every successful business. The problem is that since very few songs get released with high fidelity, and most people do not own PS Audio level equipment, the public is oblivious to how bad most songs sound, and how fantastic they could sound, in the hands of the right mixing and mastering engineers. Cheers!