Passive Pre's--Placette RVC or Luminous Axiom

I can't comment on the Placette,but I did use an Axiom with the Caddock resistors for about 6 months.In my mid-fi setup
(Rotel amp& cdp)and with the music that I listen to,Blues
and Classic rock,the Axiom preformed extremely well.At $150
its a steal.I'm currently using a Creek OBH-10, also with
excellent results.

I would say forget both and go with a TVC based preamp. I have compared my custom preamp using S&B trannies to active linestages costing many times as much. No contest, the TVC is always the winner. And I have had the Placette in my system for a night. Not even close.

Oz

Well i am thinking about the EVS nude attenuator now as it will eliminate the need for another preamp and more path for the music to have to travel through.thanks

Maybe you don't understand the concept of the TVC. It is a passive attenuator, but using the transformers instead of resistors for the attenuation. What you have is the same level of transparency as the Axiom or the Placette, but w/o the limitations of dynamics and frequency extremes of these two. You would be doing yourself a great injustice by not investigating further.

Oz

I had a Monolithic, First Sound and PLC Sonic Euphoria passives, to my ears the First Sound was thebest sounding, just with the trade-off of having a little sense of dynamic handling compared to the PLC (alsoa good choice)

The Monolithic is great for the money as well.

Fernando

Sorry, but blanket answers about the performance in an unspecified system may result in answers that won't be correct for you. This will be particularly true if you play vinyl with a low output cartridge in which case there are tradeoffs to be made.

The main issue is gain and impedance matching into your power amp.

Can you tell us more about your system?

As a user of the EVS Ultimate Attenuators (the name says it all) I can predict you won't be disappointed. Just be sure to talk with the designer, that will make sure the item constructed for you is suitable, just as The smokester explained.

I am talking about apples vs. apples here. If he has already determined that a passive device will work in his system, then a TVC will best a resistor based passive. My amp has 37db of voltage gain and a 100K ohm input impedance. My phono preamp has 65 db of gain and my cart. has an output of 0.3 mV. So yes, my system is optimized for a passive. You are correct, the final result is dependant on all these paramaters. I was assuming the poster had addressed all this already.

Oz

Thanks for the responses.
At present i will be running the Wright WPA3.5' SET amps into Bag End TA15 Studio moniors with a large horn and 15" woofers.
The source at present is a level 2 mod Music Hall from Parts connection.I am using a Dezorel line filter with all of this and also a Bag End 18" Infrasub.
thanks!