Have Passive Preamps Finally Come of Age?


Back in the late 90s (eons ago) I tried a variety of passive preamps (PPs). The most musical was an autoformer, but back then my system was not balanced. For the last decade I have been using active preamps, both tube and solid state, but finding a quality balanced preamp under $4K is damn near impossible. Enter the Parasound P5 (2.1), which in addition to having balanced I/Os, it has a separate bass management circuit (MSRP $1095), and I was hoping it would provide better control over the built in class D plates incorporated into my 2 SVS powered subs, whose volume controls are STUPIDLY sensitive: when barely cracked from zero they overwhelm. Alas, no bueno. 

Recently i watched a PS Audio YT video that was emphatic about NOT connecting powered subs with interconnects; instead he recommends speaker cables piggybacked off the main systems amp/s. I had a spare set of DIY flat copper cables, and was shocked how much better they sounded, but doing so did not change the  volume control problem and unfortunately this id not bypass the SVS amps whose class D chips are now ancient. Thinking there could be an impedance problem led me to revisit PPs.

I sold my P5 and was using the XLR outs from my Oppo 105 (upgraded power supply and IEC/wiring to the power supply) direct to my Emerald Physics 100.2SEs (class D). The noise floor dropped tremendously, allowing me a much better view into the music. My Core Power Technologies 1800 PLC had more than a little to do with this, but...  

Days of PP research later, I came across LDRs, which seem like the ultimate PP option, but XLR versions are ~ $2K and up, with the Tortuga coming in at $2700, seems like a true SOTA bargain, just not in my current budget. Scouring the' for sale' sites I came across a Hattor XLR (MSRP $995) which was in my price range. Hattor's www had links to 2 reviews both were extremely positive: one used it in combination with a class D amp. Bingo! I snapped it up.

It arrived late yesterday, although Hattor's www pictures look awesome, they do not compare to seeing and touching it. The metal carrying case was an indication of the designer's dedication. This is an etremely well made piece of kit, but how does it sound? Alas it came with no manual and Hattor's site does not have a PDF. How hard can it be to hook up? Well, after a couple scary minutes, I discovered that it would not light up until I connected the 105. 

Stone cold, the first thing that shocked me was a further reduction in noise floor and an incredibly wide and deep sound stage, but as can be expected, it was dry. Fingers crossed, in about a half hour I began to be rewarded with texture as well. Tis only got better as the night wore on

I hope somebody chimes in with their Tortuga experience, or any other high quality PP information.that goes under the reporting radar. 
tweak1
I actually push direct to amp more because it’s the best, if they have a volume control, if you bother to do your homework, which you clearly don’t.
The only time passives are mentioned is as the next best option is if the source has no volume, but hey you believe what you want.

Cheers George
George is consistently pushing these passive threads for that exact reason.
And for someone who uses the same high gain Herron phono stage as this one.
Here in case you missed it is this users report on utilising all the gain from the Herron source, instead of reducing with the AR Ref5se pre so it can just make it back up again with it’s gain stage.

The owner of the Herron said the Lightspeed passive pre wins out over his Audio Research REF-5se and older Pass X1. He’s now getting a battery for the Lightspeed and will hopefully do an update here on that.

"It sounds fantastic !!
I’m sure you have heard this before. I have done preliminary listening, approx 2x 4hours sessions.
With the Gryphon Amp, all things considered, I preferred LSA to the ARC ref5se and my older Pass X1.
Impedance match seems fine with Herron & Gryphon, no perceived roll offs, lack of dynamics etc."


Gain structure he has.
Lyra Etna SL 0.25mV > Herron 64db > Lightspeed 0db > Gryphon Antillion input sens. for full output 0.97v (30db) > Wilson Sasha 90db
HisTurntable https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/da/d3/c5dad306fea0f6cdda772d0ed07c2425.jpg

Cheers George
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