[CRESCENDOPOWER]

There is a lot of talk on Head-Fi, and Headwize about what you can do to tweak your system to your own taste.
I think a lot of people would be surprised to find that, in my opinon, a pre-amp changes the sonic character of a system more than changing tubes, interconnects, power cords, or speaker, and headphone cables.
Yes, I know this is another component in the audio chain. Which is supposed to be a NO! NO!, but for some this might work.
An example of this is, if someone thinks Grados are a little bright they could buy a tube, or even an NAD pre-amp to smooth things out.
Just a thought.

 

[rickcr42]

It is all about system synergy.You can partner a grear power amp with an also great set of loudspeakers and still end up with crap for sound if they do not mate weel.An example would be an amp that sounds good at 4 and 8 ohms but runs out of steam at 2 ohms mated with a loudspeaker that while rated at say 8 actually has a dip down to 2.
Also not everyone has the same musical taste or even hearing ability.I and some others have suffered some hearing loss over the years.I personally use a preamp for the added gain which for me translates into bass extension and slam.
I also use tone controls and filters when I deem it necessary though some think that makes me a non-audiophile.Yes they are mostly out of the loop but there are those CDs that are damn near unlistenable even though the performance is good,for those times I would rather be "politically incorrect" than deprive myself of the music,which is what it is all about anyway