Does anyone need a preamp?

Are preamplifiers needed in a stereo system? Why not just put their guts into a power amplifier and have one unit for fewer boxes and a shorter signal path?
Everything you ever wanted to know about audio, music and its reproduction is here. PS Audio co-founder and CEO Paul McGowan shares his more than 40 years of high-end audio experience, stories, interviews, and hilarious tales in this one-of-a-kind podcast. Ohm's Law is produced by PS Audio and presented ad-free for the community. Subscribe through your phone's podcast app and get the latest each day. And please, leave us a rating so others will join in.
Are preamplifiers needed in a stereo system? Why not just put their guts into a power amplifier and have one unit for fewer boxes and a shorter signal path?
Do audiophiles listen more to music or their equipment? Many think that it’s either one way or the other and Paul helps set the record straight once and for all.
Is it possible or even desirable to compare the sound of live music to a pair of 2-channel loudspeakers in the design phase of a product?
The center channel in a 2-channel audio system is not real and is only imagined inside our heads. Would it be possible to extract a center channel from 2-channel stereo and add a 3d channel?
Will a big enough memory buffer solve the problem of digital audio’s jitter and clock requirements and render the digital audio source irrelevant?
Most of today’s audio products are designed and engineered by the baby boomer generation which is on the way out. Are these aging dinosaurs leaving their knowledge behind or is it being lost with them?
Headphones can range from single to multiple drivers and everything in between planners, electrostatic, dynamics. Why would a designer of headphones decide to use multiple drivers or only a few?
High-end audio DACs range in price from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand dollars. Are they worth it? Where does one draw the line on quality and deciding how much to spend on their new DAC?
Many people believe that Class D amplifiers are actually digital when Paul argues just the opposite. Find out how a class D amplifiers work and what the differences between Class D and digital are.
PA speakers are used in some of the best concerts in the world. So, can they also be high-end and used to reproduce quality audio in the home or a club?