Preamps: Why Are the Best So Expensive? 

a very clear walk-through. & nice to open with honoring the scientific method.

Some components may be more expensive than others , but it still doesn't justify the ridiculous prices of preamps , some running into the tens of thousands.

Good pre-amps don't have to be expensive. Many are because hi-fi manufacturers have been ripping us off for decades.

Great video - thought provoking. It's difficult to juggle all of life's challenges but I (and I'm sure many others) appreciate your straight forward presentation and obvious passion for the subjects you cover.

Thanks! I really appreciate the video. I remember being really disapointed with some preamps from big name companies

I have built several preamps using various operational amplifier chips made by Analogue Devices. The op-amp chips were described as being suitable for the most demanding professional audio applications. The preamps were very cheap to build and gave spectacular results. I therefore don't understand why you think that a good preamp should be expensive.

Glad you're back in the saddle again.

Hi Steven Nice video! Good to get a reality check on the better techniques employed on good preamps. I am using an exposure XII with separate PSU exposure XI that is nearly 40 years old. The power amp is an exposure VIII stereo power amp, also the same age. I short all unused inputs at the sockets. The sound is still excellent and the source selectors (the other for tape) and the volume control still perform like new. All the best, Rob in Switzerland

Top video very thought provoking

Great video! Now I have to go back and re-read Morgan Jones!

TVA Transformer Voltage Attenuators are some of the best little known volume controls and Yes they tend to be expensive .

I use a Topping A70pro as my preamp/headphoneamp for my near field desktop setup. I use my PC and a Sony DVD player from 1999 as my two sources. My DAC is the Geshelli labs J2S AKM 4499. I use a Fosi ZA3 hooked up to some Emotive XB2s. I think I'm about $1700ish in at this point. For me, it sounds wonderful, and I'm very pleased with all the parts. The only thing I want to change is the speaker amp, since I feel a power amp would fit the setup more.

a few thousand views is excellent. i enjoyed the listen.

Look up First Sound Audio , all this fellow builds and sells are amazing preamps ! Amazing!

Hi there Just found your channel, I really enjoy the info and looking forward to more videos from you! Good practical stuff!

New-comer here. Liked your style. Great stuff!

Gold plated specs, and the fact that the devices will sit for years on the shelf, and sell in singles rather than thousands. Pity the listeners will be middle aged, to be able to afford such things, and will have hearing which is well past its best. As a technical design exercise they have a place. As a practical engineered device, demonstrating the optimum balance of function and cost, less so.

Thank you very much for the very scientific and useful explanation There are two things I can't get over in sound reproduction equipment: distortion and noise. I wonder how it is possible to accept that I send a signal at a precise frequency and at the output I get other signals that have nothing to do with the input signal Tube preamps often have a lot of distortion plus noise And yet they are liked I, however, believe that they mask many other signals and are not satisfactory in the long run. I prefer solid state for their lower THD+noise What comes out must be the mirror of what comes in. Always

I have a couple of old haflers and dynaco preamps. I know they are not high end. But occasionally ill hook them up to an amplifier and I enjoy listening to them. Only thing i wish they had really was a remote lol.

The law of diminishing returns no need to spend any more than you have to in any respect.

i’ve been into home theaters since 2000 yet there are so few preamps with home theater bypass. i love my Parasound 2100 preamp with a HT bypass. apple music lossless

Thanks 🧑‍🏫 👍

Kudos for mentioning Morgan Jones's book - one of the most enjoyable books on electronics!

I'm an instant fan

Nice work Prof👍. Start with the volume control, then build a system around it. Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊

I gotta watch first part again it got very complicated. Great production quality. Also maybe I missed it but my preamp has tons of capacitors, Teflon variety. Maybe this will be covered in part two. I do know my preempt comes with a step attenuator so I'm happy about that, vishay is what's been used

Thx, Rey enjoyable. You might like to read the “The TubePreampl CookBook” by Alan Wright of Vacuum State Hi-end electronics. I have one of his original FVP5A pre-amplifiers in my main system that I just love. In my number two system I have an old Nakamichi 610 control preamplifier which I have had since the 1980. This is the ultimate preamplifier for control freaks with no shortage of inputs and outputs which include two phono inputs with three different load settings. Regards from Australia Paul.

You gave me a hint. Unfortunately I suck in electronics.

He's a true Audiophile Super Nerd! I'm impressed.

“Vinyl, …yuk.” 😅

Very well thought out and explained video. Well done. If you ever get the chance to, get your hands on a Tom Evans designed The Vibe pre amp. It’s UK based but I believe he has a following in the States and world wide. Not cheap but considering the sound and design it rubs shoulders with silly money equipment.

Stepped attenuators using rotary switches are going to fail over time, when this when this is replaced with more high quality relays then the cost increases to the point of making them very expensive. This can be done with a digital attenuator, but the you start to introduce other factors that effect the purity of the signal. Very high quality is never cheap, if you have deep pockets then fine, but most people are happy with mass market equipment that is made down to a price.

Wow, awesome intro. Why weren't you born two years earlier which means this video would've been done two years earlier which means maybe I would've seen it before I bought a preamp. Hopefully as the video unfolds I'll be able to figure out whether i made a good decision, a very expensive decision. Wish I became an engineer rather than a Financial person who happens to be a cpa. now on with the show…..

I got a free on with every integrated amp :)

Belles, a fairly well known higher end audio company, made a boxed component which was called something I forgot. Are you familar with this component. Not sure, but this piece of equipment was inserted between source and preamp or integrated, I believe, (could be wrong), and it is thought that it improved the sound by making the impedence more favorable. It didn't many if any controls on it. It pretty much just looked like a rectangular alumi um cased component. Can anyone tell me what it was called? It might go back some decades. It got good reviews. On a circuit board there is much micro vibration going on between resistors, transistors etc., like a never ending vibrational chatter, with the micro vibrations of each part affecting the others. I have come up with ways of addressing this and it makes more improvement than you would think. Glass which is made with sand, has been utilized in some exotic preamps with outstanding results. Sand is a great vibration combatter.

Thanks

I'm using an SAE 2100L for my home cinema. Works well for me. My TV's fiber optic audio out is transcodes to stereo RCA, and my amp is an SAE 2400L. I found this arrangement pretty reliable. My Sub is a Tannoy PS115, while my speakers are Cerwin Vega CLSC-12. NO EQ done. Thoughts?

Very funny video with very funny Headline. Did you show any "best" preamp? Did you present any "so expensive" preamp? I wonder, where there are in your nice "Highend"-Workshop. Thank you for that No-Expensive-comedy!! Keep up your good work.

Well here are some things to consider 1. Research how we got the blue led that will lead to how the CRT died. 2. I also consider PreAmp(s) a top priority because in all formats at the stage the signal is millivolts & microamps basically in its infancy. 3. For a Vinyl enthusiast consider the circuit that outputs to a cutting head for Vinyl as a PreAmp standard . 4. The Term Analog just equals analogous so I questioned the electrical path and process that gives us Vinyl records . 5. What we call digital has suffered from the same problem problem of the blue led that lead to the white led that replaced are incandescent bulbs. 6. It was always electron flow you are a very Intelligent person that studies we yes there is a lot of knowledge in how things were done in the past but advancement is important . 7. Look up the Bob Carver challenge where he adjusted transistor tranfor function to match the curve plot of Tubes. (Stereophile magazine mid 80s) 8. PreAmp stage has become my favorite to add harmonics odd&even also spend more on power to filter eliminate ripple has the biggest payoff

Great explanation. Thank you. Does this apply to "unity gain" passive pre-amps

@Lancaster_HiFi. Greetings from the U.K. Thank you for all the information in your videos. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but have you had any experience with Sonab Loudspeakers? Sonab - based in Sweden (I think?) had an unusual design where the opening was on top of the cabinet, with the vertically mounted main loudspeaker vented through a slot on top of the cabinet. Under the top mounted metal gauze mesh grille were 4 smaller drivers. These pointed outward - towards the corners of the grille, to give an “omni - directional” (Sonab’s description maybe?) sound. I heard these Sonab speakers in a demonstration and the sound seemed to fill the room - that is, it didn’t appear to come from where the speakers were situated. Very impressive. And Sonab’s promotional blurb said that the speakers were built as a “pair” where all parts of the two cabinets were cut from one sheet of high density chipboard/mdf material. It’s possible that Sonab products were only for the European market and didn’t cross the Atlantic. Thanks again. Keep up your good work. Stay safe and well.

Thank you, here's my novice take away: Based on your explanation, it sounds like the only difference between cheaper and expensive pre-amps is their longevity, due to inferior/higher quality parts, respectively. My question is, do the more expensive parts actually make the system sound better, or do they just enhance longevity?

They are expensive because some people are greedy and others are ignorant.

Jeff Rowland - Corus. OMG !!!

When it comes to volume control and source selection, I'm often frustrated that it's not it's own category as a "seperate." When the "Wiim Ultra" comes out, I plan to at least try it out to add modern convenience with the remote with profiles, and the 12v trigger output to tie in my TT, the streamer, and TV to my Fisher KX-200 integrated tube amp and 800T reciever.

You want a solid preamp? Build one yourself! Highly recommend the Akitika PR-102 kit for those who dont know where to start.

My Audio Music rt-2 preamp has 2 stepped attenuators.

I ignored or underestimated, for that matter, the importance of the pre-amp. It didn't seem logical to me why an extra component that actually attenuates the DAC signal (real amplification is only necessary for turntables) would improve the sound quality. Yet, it is a fact. My DACs, even with a quite powerful output stage, were never able do drive the active speaker as well as my preamp does. However, the preamp must be of top quality. Any extra noise or distortion ruins everything - at least for me. Some enthusiasts enjoy certain distortions to make the chain more "musical".

A lot of money for a volume control.

Blink, dude!

Now have someone young listen to a dedicated tuner when all they've experienced of radio is the car or a cheap stereo system. Their minds will be blown.

From a "that prove it guy with university science teaching/research experience" to another.... welcome to the wild west of RU-vid audio.

Now that I know how to build one… …what about how they sound?

BZ you are spot on, good design rules. You are a good aide on examining those boards. Thank you for the vid.

I had to watch this three times to get to the ‘expensive’ part, I kept nodding off, getting distracted, etc. I would like to have heard more about the Mercury-wetted switches. You also failed to mention the display, and illumination, which can drive up cost. Why not start your presentation where you ended it: “Two things drive up the cost of preamps, volume control and source selection, let’s see why. . . .” Of course you might preface that sentence with, There are three reasons people use preamps: impedance matching, source selection, and volume control. Two of those three are gonna cost you, if they are done right. “

i think it´s not dificult to to reply, as they are much better , are expensive ,i´ve seen good power amps with chinese pre-amps or whatever litle bad quality material they sale from brands like fosi and douk or something like that, just take a look at early 70´s C1 from yamaha ,the most complete power amplifier i´ve seen and then the Sony from early 80´s Esprit series (ES)both are good but one as more functions than one might think and other as the main functions only ,the pioneer exclusive C3 or the C77 and the C21 is told to be very good but the others i refer are more complete ,the Yamaha was the most complete of all i ever saw, the Sony from 82 is more simple as great sound with it´s power amplifier and speakers from the same series, the Phase linear 4000 i don´t know if were already owned by Pioneer but the one i have from series two is ,i think it´s already from Pioneer, this new ones more cheap will work but not for long and i´ve heard some who aren´t good but are being used with expensive power amps and speakers, today a lot of sold material is snake oil

Unfortunately I did not understand any thing...can please simplify the info

For the same reasons that the best of just about everything is expensive?

No, the best aren't expensive, us people with a brain use a quality av receiver as a pre amp...don't fall for SNAKE OIL people...

Sir put a coupling cap in damn thing and move on..

Why is anything expensive 🙄

Why's a rolls royce better than a robin relient hello