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Integrated vs pre/power

paulfromcamden

paulfromcamden

Baffled
I love my little Croft Phono Integrated amp. It just sits unobtrusively on the sideboard, barely a full width case, and sounds lovely.

I still have a Leak ST20 tucked away. It sounds lovely too but I don't really have the space in our living room for the Leak and a separate pre-amp.

It also gives me pause for thought whenever someone posts that they're tearing their hair out trying to fix an earth hum.

Which got me thinking... why do most people run a separate pre and power amp?

It made sense in the days of radiograms when your quad preamp would be mounted flush and the power amp hidden in the depths of the unit.

I wonder whether we've just gotten used to 'proper' gear being in that format.
 
It has been posted here quite a few times - something special, cleverly and optimally put together in a single box, will beat plenty of 2 and 3 box contenders.

That said, mix and match pre-power is always tempting for any experimenter and the curious.
 
I've had three ST20's with a variety of preamps and never had an earth hum problem. Also had plenty of integrateds and other pre and power amps and have no particular preference on that front.

I occasionally have a crack at a simpler setup but so far have always expanded back out again. Currently somewhere in the middle box count wise.
 
Perhaps having a pre and power amp combo feels more hifi for some people. As mentioned it also allows for more box swapping and upgrading through a range (think Naim etc). The negative side for me of this set up is more space used, most likely more power and more cables required.
An integrated has a lot shorter signal from the pre to power amp and less cables to worry about.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Which got me thinking... why do most people run a separate pre and power amp?

It made sense in the days of radiograms when your quad preamp would be mounted flush and the power amp hidden in the depths of the unit.
Click to expand...

I seem to recall that back in the day there was a key argument that ran along the lines of 'flexibility'.

Simply put: separates allow for the swapping out of individual components, thus 'upgrading' significant parts of the chain, rather than replacing the whole shebang in one go - also allowed the option of adding discrete units (such as equalisers) or even swapping individual circuit boards (such as phono cards) to improve individual component performance.

If anything, this became a much more rational approach with the advent of digital audio, which is why I find the more recent trend to downsize and opt for 'streamer/CD/dac/amps' quite amusing ... nothing beats having all your costly eggs in one vulnerable basket :D
 
More watts would be a good reason for owning separate Pre-power or Pre-mono block combos rather than a integrated amplifier. Another reason may be a separate preamp may be less susceptible to noise from the power amp section?
 
My Classe Audio CP35 preamp is just so good I could never come back to an integrated.......unless I would pay a tremendous amount of money and it ain’t gonna happen.
 
In the main (UK) system I'd been using Naim, Linn and Avondale pre/power combinations for many a year...until I grabbed a JVC AX-Z1010TN to see what the fuss was all about. The JVC is staying! It's everything I could possibly need and does everything at least as well as the previous stuff.
 
BTW I’m totally fine with integrated or pre/power.

What I really don’t like is a streamer or other source built into the integrated amp. My 45 year old Sansui AU-717 was overhauled and is ready for another 40. I can’t see that happening with an all in one whether it’s because of obsolescence or because of an IC that’s no longer available.

The obsolescence angle is maybe more tolerable — you could potentially keep using the amp even if the streamer was broken.

Sources have evolved over the years, but well made amps and preamps are still useful decades later.
 
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My Teac UD-503 DAC is also my preamp (it has the nicest volume control I've ever used), so I only need a power amp.

My speakers like a bit of oomph, of which the Primare A34.2 delivers plenty at lower cost than an equally capable integrated.

Makes perfect sense to me...
 
I would, through my journey with separate pre and power, you are more likely to experience an mis match and sub optimal performance rather than a marriage made in heaven !
 
BRW I still really want one of my TVC pre amps to work better but consistently find matching them so hard. I guess that’s the journey though !
 
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