Thanks again for the thoughts,
Skip
Pass Labs X-1, X2.5 preamp volume increments.
Thanks much for the info.. (George) re/source output, amp gain, speaker sensitivity---I hear where you are coming from---but--- just off the top of my head .. would not a preamp that is able to do volume increments of .5db or even 1db have more capability of volume range then a pre that does it in 2 or even 3 db steps? Seems to me it would.. (Watercourse) And hearing of your experience with bedroom system of being a bit too loud at "1" setting is exactly what I was contemplating could happen. I have had systems like that. My speakers are 96db in the bedroom now and sources are rca likely around 2-3 v. My bedroom system is now using a Creek passive pre but it is also hooked hooked into a Decware Csp2 non remote preamp ... Sounds like a lot of signal routing doesnt it? It sounds fine though but I think I have some redundancy going on and would like to get back to a single active preamp with remote capability. The Creek has a remote but its passive which I like to think is not affecting the signal all that much. What is nice about the Csp2 though is it has adjustable gain for each channel. This system lets me get the volume down so low that one can leave it on all night and forget its on until you wake up and still be slightly audible were one to wake up.. Although, the thing here is I really wanted to put the Pass X-1 or X2.5 in the main system so as to run it with my XA30.5 which would be a first for me to actually run a pre and amp of the same manufacturer and see what that might unveil. I can switch back and forth with the Pass or put the SF Line 1 in the bedroom where the tape deck is. Thanks again for the thoughts, Skip |
skiroeThanks much for the info.. (George) re/source output, amp gain, speaker sensitivity---I hear where you are coming from---but--- just off the top of my head .. would not a preamp that is able to do volume increments of .5db or even 1db have more capability of volume range then a pre that does it in 2 or even 3 db steps? Depends on the sources output, I’ve seen some cdp that have 6v output at 0dbf and some the only have 1v output at 0dbf. This then would be the deciding factor on which one will be quiet enough at minimum. Then there are the amp gain and speaker efficiency which will come into it as well after that. This is why Nelson Pass also quoted this little gem. (Even though he designs and sells preamp with gain, he needs an income as well as anyone.) " Nelson Pass,We’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more. Think of it this way: If you are running your volume control down around 9 o’clock, you are actually throwing away signal level so that a subsequent gain stage can make it back up. Routinely DIYers opt to make themselves a “passive preamp” - just an input selector and a volume control. What could be better? Hardly any noise or distortion added by these simple passive parts. No feedback, no worrying about what type of capacitors – just musical perfection. And yet there are guys out there who don’t care for the result. “It sucks the life out of the music”, is a commonly heard refrain (really - I’m being serious here!). Maybe they are reacting psychologically to the need to turn the volume control up compared to an active preamp." Cheers George |
Re: passive preamps. I have used TVCs and resistor-based, and indeed, with digital sources, there was a noticeable flatness to the sound. With all of my phono stages however, this was not the case - analog had intact dynamics with either passive or active preamp stages. The passive preamp stage in the INT-30A does not suffer from any loss of liveliness, so I would not assume that passive preamps will generally sound less lively. |