I've always believed that a great tube preamp will increase satisfaction over no-preamp or passive alternatives, though I've never seriously done comparisons. Also, my 2ch rig is turntable sourced only, with a low-output MC, so I do kinda need the extra gain (though my current preamp gives even more gain than I need).
Not at all a fair comparison, but my turntable setup and tube preamp driving a balanced headphone amp and Sennheiser HD650 headphones clobbers the same headphone setup driven by a Schiit Yggdrasil without preamp. So the preamp certainly can't be doing much wrong, if anything.
And dammit - now I've got to get an RP-7 to try in my system! Though the Hera has knocked off the Ref 6 in my system, so it's going to have a heck of tough job. If it sounds like the Hera but with lower noise I'd be in heaven.
Last edited by mulveling; 10-19-2017 at 01:06 AM.
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