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

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

There are studio and tube preamps, as well as a dedicated acoustic simulator. —New Atlas, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above