Well, yes and no. The Naim IS a powered preamp...
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Glance back at the numbers from my reply, and you'll see that even the (lower maximum output voltage) Modi 2 and 2 Uber could drive my power amplifier to very high output levels...
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Thanks to you both, this makes perfect sense. I'm doing a lot of learning in here!
My entry into the audiophile world is relatively recent, and I've actually never owned a standalone amp/speaker stereo. I came of age in the early digital era, and prior to my Asgard my journey into audio started when I first bought my Sound Blaster Pro in the early 90's to which I either connected ****ty low powered active computer speakers, or cheap commodity headphones plugged directly into the sound card, or my off-brand portable 90's CD player. (well, portable was a joke, because you couldn't move with it without it skipping...)
I've never owned a record player or vinyl records. In fact they always used to scare me as I've never had steady hands, and having to carefully lower the needle onto the record without scratching it was terrifying to me.
My first sort-of decent sound came with a set of Sony MDR CD250 headphones in the mid to late 90's some time. They had been a gift someone gave to my dad, but he hadn't used them even once, and had no interest in them, so he let me use them, and at some point they essentially became mine.
After heavy use for many years in 2009 these things were literally falling apart (and I mean the actual literally, not meaning figuratively as the kids use it today). Not knowing a thing about headphones, I did some googling, joined head-fi and asked for recommendations. A few recommendations and some arguing by members ensued, and in the end due to a great price on eBay I wound up with a set of 80ohm Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's. Once I got them I had that stereotypical "I just removed the cotton balls from my ears" experience, even though I was only running them from the 3.5mm jack on my laptop. It was recommended to me pretty early on that I would benefit from an amp, but it took me 2 and a half years before I broke down the resistance to spend $250 on one of the first gen Schiit Asgards in November 2011. (I was order number 500-something!). I grew up in a household with with strong sentiments of "you only buy things you absolutely need, never fall for the trick of brand names, cheap no-names are always the way to go, never indulge yourself" etc, so I've always had guilt associated with buying things like $250 amps, even though I have no problem affording them...
Anyway, repeat the "cotton ball" experience, and I was loving it. I had always planned on picking up a Bifrost to pair with it (working up to that money spending guilt thing), but never got around to it. Life got busy, lots of work, marriage, divorce, I didn't pay much attention to audio stuff for a long time, until less than two months ago when after modding my computer with a water cooling system, (my office gets hot in the summer, and the fan noise was driving me batty) the electrical pump noise making its way through the internal sound card I'd been using with the Asgard (a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD) just became unbearable, and I decided it was time for an external DAC. Having been very happy with my Asgard, I really went straight to Schiit, and after some research Modi Multibit seemed like an amazing value. I didn't know what Multibit was, but Bifrost Multibit level sound quality at $250 sounded almost too good to be true.
Once I got it I fell in love with my music all over again, and I started researching headphone upgrades. My old 80ohm beyerdynamics had been sat on by someone who shall remain nameless, and were wrecked and taped together, so first I ordered a replacement set (but this time the 250 Ohm versions). I also found (and just barely) got in on the Massdrop Senheiser HD6xx drop, so I have those coming soon. Then I decided I wanted a better amp for the Sennheisers, so I ordered a Lyr 2 from Schiit. I also bought a new Modi 2 Uber and gave my Asgard to my Fiance. I asked her what headphones she liked, and she said she liked mine, so she got a pair of 250ohm Beyer 770pro's as well. The Lyr 2 sound was amazing, but I went down a total rabbit hole when it came to tube rolling, and I could tell it was about to become a stupid obsession, and that I would never be satisfied and continue spending money on rare NOS tubes from the 50's through the 70's for the rest of my life, so I decided it wasn't for me, and to return it under Schiits 15 day plan. I should be getting my replacement Jotunheim (no DAC board, as I will be using the Modi Multibit) tomorrow according to the tracking info and I am excited to hear it after all the good things I've heard.
I've also already ordered the cables both to make my own Sennheiser balanced cable (no way I'm spending audio-jewelry prices for cables) and I'm even going to try to convert my beyerdynamics to a balanced set.
So anyway, wow, what a diversion. This started as just an explanation of why I was lacking in knowledge and thankful for your explanations, and turned into my total audio hardware history, which I'm sure no one is interested in, but hey, it's typed. I might as well hit submit.
So, TLDR version. I know less than most people on here, as I have a very limited audiophile background. Thanks for explaining the stuff to me, I really appreciate it.