A powered transducer preamplifier includes a preamplifier circuit that DC couples the preamplifier input with the preamplifier output. A biasing circuit is coupled to the preamplifier input to apply a bias voltage to power the transducer, and a DC level shifting circuit is DC coupled to the signal path of the preamplifier circuit between the input and the output to compensate for this bias voltage. The DC level shifting circuit avoids the use of reactive components, and thereby reduces phase distortion. A variety of DC level shifting circuits can be used, including a bridge circuit having four matched resistors and an inverter DC coupled between the nodes of the bridge.