preamp

noun

pre·​amp ˈprē-ˌamp 

variants or less commonly pre-amp

plural preamps also pre-amps

: preamplifier

On a fundamental level, a preamp makes sound louder without adding noise. Plug a smartphone into a stereo with the volume maxed out and you'll likely get a lot of distortion. A preamp adds that volume without the noise.

—Thorin Klosowski

The goal was to assemble a transportable machine that would pick up the specific nuclear signatures associated with materials used in nuclear weapons while screening out materials that might trigger a similar reading, a lab spokesman said. … The systems' parts, though not all available from Radio Shack, came from components on hand at the lab … including a hand-held computer, a pre-amp, an amplifier and a solid-state detector.

—Inside Energy/with Federal Lands

Examples of preamp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Phono preamps take the quiet signal from the turntable and bring it up to line level—the level your stereo expects from CD players, tape decks, and digital devices. —Parker Hall, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2024

There are plenty of good, cheap options for phono preamps. —Parker Hall, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2024

Professional-grade audio gear uses a more complicated setup that includes an interface, possibly a preamp, and (for portable setups) a recorder as well. —Eric Ravenscraft, WIRED, 14 May 2022

For those who already have a suitable amplifier, the preamp in the turntable can be turned off. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above