Originally Posted by
Svend N
Lawrence, to your original question, I don't think it's in your head at all. You clearly are sensitive to this, which is a good thing in this hobby, being able to discern subtle differences.
I can tell you that I also experienced this with my preamps, and didn't get this sorted out until I had my main pre (Sony TA-E86B) heavily modded and recapped. The timeline went something like this: Sony was stock, driving a Belles OCM 200 power amp, Teac VRDS-10 cd player (unmodded) as main source; I didn't like the sound of the pre (harsh, grainy, lacking openness) so had it converted to be a passive device; this sounded better at the time, until I upgraded the speakers to a harder-to-drive pair and then modded the Teac (clock board, op amps, etc.); after a time I came to realize that the passive state of the preamp was holding the whole system back; just for a lark I temporarily swapped in a Sugden active pre, and Holy Smokes! the system was alive again; so I had the Sony fully hot-rodded and it now sounds sweet, fluid and grain free, with incredible delicacy and detail.
So, to make a long story short, I believe you can get a solid state preamp, even a mid-level one, to sound fluid and sweet, but it may require some modding to eliminate some of the offending parts and replace them with higher-quality ones. I'm thinking things like capacitors, resistors, op amps, connectors. Let's face it, all components, except cost-no-object ones, are designed with compromises to fit a price point. So, assuming the basic circuit design is sound, there should be room for improvement. For this, the advice and service of a top-notch tech is invaluable. The fellow that I used, Dan Santoni, worked a miracle on my Sony -- totally transformed the sound....unrecognisable from the original, and for very reasonable money. So if you have a solid state preamp that you like the sound of, except for a bit of grain, and it seems to match well with your power amp, perhaps it might be worth a consult with a good tech to see if it can be improved.
As for passive pre's, I would have to agree with some of the others (Marco, Shaun, etc.) that they leave a lot wanting in way of dynamics, pace, drive, fullness. What I gained in way of cleaner sound by converting my Sony to a passive, I lost more by ending up with a lifeless system. This became very apparent once I upgraded other components that really revealed the shortcomings of the pre. I suppose it's possible to have a passive pre that is able to provide the power amp with the input that it needs to really drive the speakers, presuming that the latter are an easy load, but that's not been my experience.
BTW, that Sugden I mentioned sounded wonderful! Very full, dynamic, fluid, punchy. It lacks detail and delicacy next to the Sony, but has a fuller, warmer sound. It's a Sugden C-28 model, in case you're interested. Great preamp!
Good luck!
Hope this helps.
Svend