What it does
A streaming preamplifier, sometimes called a network player and preamplifier, connects to your home network, plays music from streaming services and from files on a local drive, converts that digital signal to analog and then acts as the preamplifier for the system: it selects sources, controls the volume and feeds a power amplifier. A few models go one step further and include the power amplifier too, which makes them streaming integrated amplifiers; the MOON 371 and the McIntosh MSA5500 are examples of that approach.
The options
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz and the rest
Most current streaming preamplifiers work as Roon endpoints and play Tidal and Qobuz natively, with Spotify Connect, AirPlay and often Bluetooth alongside. The control app matters as much as the format list, because it is what you will touch every day. We will show you the apps side by side.
When it replaces three boxes
If your listening is mostly streamed and you have no plans for a turntable or a disc player, a streaming preamplifier replaces the network player, the DAC and the preamplifier, with two fewer power cords and two fewer pairs of interconnects. Fewer boxes also means fewer decisions and a shelf that looks the way most people want a living room to look.
DAC quality
The conversion stage inside a streaming preamplifier ranges from competent to reference-grade. The MOON 891, the T+A PSD 3100 HV and the Linn Selekt DSM with its Organik DAC are built to compete with separate converters. In a lower-priced model the DAC is often the part to listen for most carefully.
Analog inputs
A streaming preamplifier with analog inputs can still take a turntable through a phono stage, or a tape machine or a tuner. Some, including the MOON 891, 791 and 491 and the Linn Selekt DSM, offer a phono input of their own. If you have analog sources now or might later, make sure the model you choose keeps that door open.
How we think about it at Pearl
We ask how you listen today and how you expect to listen in five years. For an all-digital listener the streaming preamplifier is often the most elegant answer, and we carry them from MOON, Linn, T+A and McIntosh. For a listener who keeps a turntable at the center, we weigh the convenience against the flexibility of separate boxes, and often the answer is a streaming preamplifier with a good analog input. Either way, the power amplifier and the loudspeakers still decide the rest.
Where to start
Bring your phone with your streaming service of choice on it. Tell us which analog sources you own, what power amplifier you have or are considering, and whether a single-box system appeals. We will set two streaming preamplifiers up on the same amplifier and loudspeakers and let you drive them.
