I understand the point of an amp is to boost the power going to the equipment but everytime I look up what preamps do I just get confused on why they are nessecary and how they affect it differently than an amp. Is it just a separate signal booster in the chain? When would you need one? Why wouldn’t a stronger amp do the same thing or have it built in already?
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If you are using DAC that can do the standard 2Vrms via RCA (or better: 4Vrms via balanced XLR), then you can use most power amps without a preamp. But some do require more voltage, some even 11Vrms or higher; many are rated at only needing ~1.2Vrms though.
A preamp can have many functions though. It can be active and boost the incoming signals to be powerful enough for the amp. It can simply be a source switcher. It can be passive and only for volume control.
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