Can you hook the output of a preamp to the input of an intergrated amp?

i dont see why not, it would make for two volume controls for the same signal though.

The wise@$$ answer - of course you can. Now, whether or not it's a good idea, I don't know.

Set the pre then just use the amps. Wanted for balance control. It isn't for me but for a friend. It is a nice harman kardon citation seventeen preamplifier.

Amplify a signal already amplified is never a good solution. It can add distortion in the input signal.

The signal will suffer unnecessary added distortion, and the user can easily overload the second pre-amp´s circuit on louder passages. Not such a great idea, me thinks.

Proceed with caution.

Why can I hook a phono amp up to it then? wouldn't be like another component? Let's say keep the volume at a 1/4 on the pre amp and use the intergrated volume.

if your friend wants to do this in order to use a turntable, a better route would be to buy an external phono preamp. you just patch it in between the turntable RCAs, and any line level input of your choosing on your pre, and Voila, instant vinyl

Most integrateds do not have interconnects so I am assuming you are thinking about the signal through two preamps before getting to the amp. I can be done but be careful about setting the volume controls. The bigger issue is signal degradation. Your sound is likely to be congested and veiled compared to just a single preamp.

Does the first pre-amp have the ability to record to a tape deck? If yes, then use the signal coming out from the first pre amp to drive an input on the second pre-amp. This will remove the volume control, but also remove the balance control.

I used a modified Counterpoint SA1 with a killer phono section this way for years. (Counterpoint tape out drove a line level input on a Audio Research SP-5).

DSA

I presume you are asking why you can hook up a phono-pre to the integrated, but not another line level preamp to the integrated. Am I right?

The reason is that a phono preamp amplifies and equalizes a very low level signal from a cartridge ( from 0.3 to 5 milivolts tipically ) to a level usually not exceding 1 to 2 volts.

If you feed a pre-amp´s output - which can swing 3 to 5 volts under normal circumstances - to a line levell input on the integrated - usually specified to accept maximum inputs of 2 volts ( the standard for CD ) - you can see the risks of overloading.

As stated by myself and others, it can be done, but with caution. If you keep the preamp´s volume knob low, I´m pretty sure you can get away with it. But the added distortion and signal degradation will always be there. Depending on the system´s resolution it might be more or less objectionable.

Going a different route. Going to put a balance control between the speaker output and the speakers.

Since it is a phono-preamp - you didn't specify it before... - you can plug it directly in your integrated amp with no problems at all. Take a good look at the link below:

http://manuals.harman.com/hk/Service%20Man...enteen%20sm.pdf

In general terms what a phono preamp does is take the tiny electrical signal from a phono cartridge and amplifies it to a high enough level that can be fed into a line level input on a regular amplifier and will have a volume that you consider normal. It can also provide impedance loading so that the cartridge has optimum matching... some might have fixed loading, or an adjustable selection to finetune to variety of cartridges. It also provides the RIAA EQ curve to "decode" the way an LP was prepared to compensate for bass and treble frequencies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

These days, many components do not have a phono input. You can't simply plug your turntable into a line input--it would be very low in volume and sound extremely tinny because the RIAA equalization is not being applied. Hence, the need for an outboard phono preamp where the output is increased to intensity equal to other audio sources like CDs and tapes and to restore the original signal.

That was just an example. We want balance control. The speakers are at different positions.

so it is a standard preamp and not a phono preamp, but it has no balance control? in that case i would just use the integrated and take the preamp out of the equation.