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Lightspeed Attenuator - Best Preamp Ever?

The question is a bit rhetorical. No preamp is the best ever, and much depends on system context. I am starting this thread beacuase there is a lot of info on this preamp in a Music First Audio Passive...thread, an Slagle AVC Modules...thread and wanted to be sure that information on this amazing product did not get lost in those threads.

I suspect that many folks may give this preamp a try at $450, direct from Australia, so I thought it would be good for current owners and future owners to have a place to describe their experience with this preamp.

It is a passive preamp that uses light LEDs, rather than mechanical contacts, to alter resistance and thereby attenuation of the source signal. It has been extremely hot in the DIY community, since the maker of this preamp provided gernerously provided information on how to make one. The trick is that while there are few parts, getting it done right, the matching of the parts is time consuming and tricky, and to boot, most of use would solder our fingers together if we tried. At $450, don't bother. It is cased in a small chassis that is fully shielded alloy, it gets it's RF sink earth via the interconnects. Vibration doesn't come into it as there is nothing to get vibrated as it's passive, even the active led's are immune as they are gas element, no filaments. The feet I attach are soft silicon/sorbethane compound anyway just in case.

This is not audio jewelry with bling, but solidly made and there is little room (if any) for audionervosa or tweaking.

So is this the best preamp ever? It might be if you have a single source (though you could use a switch box), your source is 2v or higher, your IC from pre-amp to amp is less than 2m to keep capaitance low, your amp is 5kohm input or higher (most any tube amp), and your amp is relatively sensitive (1v input sensitivity or lower v would be just right). In other words, within a passive friendly system (you do have to give this some thought), this is the finest passive preamp I have ever heard, and I have has many ranging form resistor-based to TVCs and AVCs.

In my system, with my equipment, I think it is the best I have heard passive or active, but I lean towards prefering preamp neutrality and transparency, without loosing musicality, dynamics, or the handling of low bass and highs.

If you own one, what are your impressions versus anything you have heard?

Is it the best ever? I suspect for some it may be, and to say that for a $450 product makes it stupidgood.
pubul57
teajay
1,702 posts
 
Hey Clio09,

I get a kick out of your phrase, "well deal with it", as if I'm losing sleep over the drivel that George keeps pushing for his own finacial gain.

I believe that you have entrenched your self in a position for what ever reason to be an advocate for good old George and what ever my opinion is you will attack it and disregarded any information I share. I accept we will never agree, so it's a waste of my time to try to explain anything more to you.

For an example of friendly and good natured rational discourse on this thread, take a look at how I and Paul try to discuss things in a respectful manner even though we do not see eye to eye on some aspects of this topic.

So I'm done with you, Good Day
fiddler
581 posts
 
"...George keeps pushing for his own finacial gain."

How do you know what George's motivations are? Maybe you should set up a psychic hotline.

Seems to me if a guy was interested in financial gain, he would price his unit more in line with other passives (read: higher priced) and that same guy wouldn't put his design out there for free on DIYaudio.com.

Doesn't make much sense does it?

Next conspiracy theory...
dgarretson
2,601 posts
 
George's sharing of ideas in 678 posts to DIYaudio forum suggest that he has freely given far more than he has taken.

http://boardreader.com/thread/Lightspeed_Attenuator_a_new_passive_prea_5n7lzX1pvm.html

Dave
teajay
1,702 posts
 
Fiddler,

This has been gone over before on this thread that George's motivation has nothing to do with financial gain,
but is just sharing from the goodness of his heart.

Directly to your two points:

1) What he charges for the LSA is very reasonable, it should be, it's nothing more then a few relatively inexpensive parts and a generic metal box. No remote and we won't talk about ergonomics because their are none. Unlike other passives with features like RCA/XLR inputs, remote, phase switch,etc that add cost to a passive linestage if built to high quality.

2) As I have stated before on this topic someone like Nelson Pass who has given much to the DIY community along wih his relatively low cost First Watt line of amps and preamp to make these pieces available to more people then his higher level Pass Labs gear does not get on a GON thread to self promote what a genius he is, even though he is, and push and push his piece so it becomes one on-going advertisment. He also self proclaims that all other active linestages are inferior to his LSA, by using his version of "scientific" information to try to make this claim seem objective.

So, I wish I had psychic abilities, but I don't, oh well. And as far as conspiracy theory, why don't you offer one regarding my reason for one, just sharing my opinion and two finding it annoying that this thread is one long unpaid ad for George's OK, inexpense passive that he tries to prove makes all other pramps obsolete, if the conditions are meet for a passive, yea right. No conspiracy as I can tell, it seems pretty clear to me what he actually does here, along what his reasons are for doing it.

pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
Interesting you mention Nelson Pass, surely one of the greatest designers in the audio world. He seems to really like the LSA design, at least based on his comments on the DIY thread. Would be nice to have a First Watt Lightspeed/B1, with the ability to toggle between straight and buffered (when needed), along with multiple inputs (3?) and possibly XLR - that could be a real winner assuming no need for gain. Though it would likely be $1500 or so for nice casing. I would buy that in a minute. Still, even then, it would not make other preamps obsolete for many different reasons.
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