"Iain Churches" wrote in message
i.fi...

"West" wrote


...AND better no pot at all, but if you must, use a step attenuator
with
quality resistors.


Hi West.

Better still, no preamp at all:-) With the addition of a stepped
attenuator, one can feed the CD player straight to the power amp.
Morgan Jones states: "No preamplifier is better than any
preamplifier!" I agree with that sentiment.


S'what I did with my 2A3 SET which is effectively a power amp with a
volume control - my thinking was that the 'pre' section could be a
nightmare for a beginner to get right (quiet) and that there are/were
any number of 'ready-made' pre's that could be used if necessary, until
such time I built my own! It has worked so well without a pre I never
got round to building one!


Many take this a step further and add an input selector switch
as well as the SA to the power amp. This makes sense too.


Except that it eliminates the option of a 'single source direct' and
condemns the amp to possibly 'inescapable' crosstalk with the extra
internal wiring....