what does a preamp do in a shelf stereo setup?

[ThurzNite]

I wanna power these large towers but my old school Marantz receiver with 35watts/channel rms is kinda weak. I hafta turn up the volume to 3/4 full to get decent volume. Will a preamp help me? What does a preamp do exactly? There are connections for a preamp (out and in...right now it's bypassed) on the Marantz. Thanx.
Jay

 

[thebestMAX]

Sorry,

A pre Amp will not help your situation. It takes low level inputs like a turntable cartridge (remember those?), FM Tuner or CD player and amplifies it and sends it to the power Amp so that the Amplifier itself can drive the speakers. It also has all the controls such as bass and treble, balance and the like.

What you need is either a new reciever or separate pre-amp/power amp setup. You could also just get a power amp and use the Marantz for the pre amp but since it is such a low power rec to begin with, you can probably get something better (i unit) for just a few bucks more.

Above is highly simplified but should give you an idea. Any more questions, just ask.