Is power amp a necessity in this case?

[Jokiallas]

Hi!

I have been trying to look up the answer to my question for a long time now (in Talkbass forums, Fuzzbass, various musical forums and sites) but still haven't found the answer.

Can I get clear and enough sound only from a cab and a preamp when I'm playing with headphones or in low volume (I'm living in a apartment building), or is power amp necessity even in this case? I'm thinking to upgrade my fuzzy, seven year old, 100€ combo to SWR Marcus Miller Preamp and SWR Marcus Miller GoLight. But the thing is I don't know do I need to buy also a poweramp?

Thanks,

- Johannes

[IvanMike]

No.

Without a poweramp to amplify the signal to speaker levels, you will get NO (none) sound out of a speaker by plugging a preamp into it, and it could potentially damage the preamp due to a rather large impedance mismatch.

Edit - if the MM preamp has a headphone output, then you can use headphones with it. You don't ever want to plug headphones straight into a poweramp, only into a headphone output on an amp, preamp, or other specialized unit.

[IvanMike]

FWIW, checking out the amp FAQ would have nailed this question in 1 minute. Check out some of the threads there to give yourself some direction in getting a poweramp to suit your needs and to give yourself some more basic info on amps.