"What is a "sin of omission?"
The preamp is a link in the signal chain. If more information comes in than leaves, then a sin of omission has been committed. Signal loss. Clarity loss. In other words, things have been omitted from the source signal.
"Does't, "alter the frequency response" mean distorts?"
No, not necessarily. Distortion figures and frequency response are two different things. Both can be screwed up by a preamp. The ideal is of course a wire with gain, but that is not automatic and in my experience, not that common. Rolled off highs, rolled off lows, a midrange dip, a spike hear or there...all of these things can leave a sonic signature even in a preamp that has low distortion figures.
"How does a pre amp "screw with dynamics?"
This is getting into technical stuff best handled by those who know more about it, but from what I have experienced trying several different preamps...Weak power supply. Overly complex signal path that leads to signal loss. The types of capacitors used. I don't know for sure for any given one, as it varies from preamp to preamp. Even the interaction between amp and preamp can play with dynamics if the output and input impedance of the two aren't well matched. Sometimes when you use a tube preamp with a solid state amp, the impedance mis-match will lead to a loss of bass and, I would expect, a loss of dynamics with it.
"How can a pre amp be a "bad match to drive a particular amp?"
If you haven't heard this yourself, you and I have been playing with much different gear...which is, of course, very possible. I've had amps that sound great with one preamp, terrible with another. That same preamp that sounded bad with one amp, sounds great with another. And so and and so on...which is partially where the term 'synergy' comes from. Some feel system synergy is one of the most important aspects of a truly great system.
Also, in my experience of attending audio getogethers, etc, it is not a crap shoot to get people to agree on how something sounds. It may be a crap shoot as to whether or not they like that sound, but in general I've not been in a room full of people who couldn't talk about the sound they were hearing in at least close, approximate terms. Obviously we all have different ears, and each of those ears has it's own frequency response, not unlike how two microphones sound different (yes, they really do, a Neumann U47 does not sound like a Shure SM58).
We're simply going to have to agree that our experiences are different. I've heard good preamps and bad preamps (to my ears and taste) and some that sounded like others and some that sounded completely different than others. It's only my opinion.
The preamp is a link in the signal chain. If more information comes in than leaves, then a sin of omission has been committed. Signal loss. Clarity loss. In other words, things have been omitted from the source signal.
"Does't, "alter the frequency response" mean distorts?"
No, not necessarily. Distortion figures and frequency response are two different things. Both can be screwed up by a preamp. The ideal is of course a wire with gain, but that is not automatic and in my experience, not that common. Rolled off highs, rolled off lows, a midrange dip, a spike hear or there...all of these things can leave a sonic signature even in a preamp that has low distortion figures.
"How does a pre amp "screw with dynamics?"
This is getting into technical stuff best handled by those who know more about it, but from what I have experienced trying several different preamps...Weak power supply. Overly complex signal path that leads to signal loss. The types of capacitors used. I don't know for sure for any given one, as it varies from preamp to preamp. Even the interaction between amp and preamp can play with dynamics if the output and input impedance of the two aren't well matched. Sometimes when you use a tube preamp with a solid state amp, the impedance mis-match will lead to a loss of bass and, I would expect, a loss of dynamics with it.
"How can a pre amp be a "bad match to drive a particular amp?"
If you haven't heard this yourself, you and I have been playing with much different gear...which is, of course, very possible. I've had amps that sound great with one preamp, terrible with another. That same preamp that sounded bad with one amp, sounds great with another. And so and and so on...which is partially where the term 'synergy' comes from. Some feel system synergy is one of the most important aspects of a truly great system.
Also, in my experience of attending audio getogethers, etc, it is not a crap shoot to get people to agree on how something sounds. It may be a crap shoot as to whether or not they like that sound, but in general I've not been in a room full of people who couldn't talk about the sound they were hearing in at least close, approximate terms. Obviously we all have different ears, and each of those ears has it's own frequency response, not unlike how two microphones sound different (yes, they really do, a Neumann U47 does not sound like a Shure SM58).
We're simply going to have to agree that our experiences are different. I've heard good preamps and bad preamps (to my ears and taste) and some that sounded like others and some that sounded completely different than others. It's only my opinion.
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