Passive preamp vs. powered

OP, I guess the answer is it depends. It depend on the system context, and it depends on your preference for the type of sound that appeals to you. I will see that in a properly matched system (CD with 100Kohm input impedance on the amp and low capacitance (or short) ICs) it is pretty darn hard to beat the value of something like the Bent Transformer or Autoformer (I prefer)TVCs. I can tell you that it is very well designed, sounds great, and will give most if not all active linestages a mighty tough time justifying the cost difference, which doesn't mean you won't fine a wonderful tube preamp that does something for you that makes the price worth paying.

hi ralph:

i appreciate your specifics--denotation and connotation, of what better is. however, as audio is one of many aesthetic endeavors of life, opinion is the final arbiter.

if i say it is beter its is better for me, but perhaps not better for you. you can choose objective criteria. hwoever, within that arbitrary context which is not knowledge, someone else may create other objective criteria which disagrees with your assertions. thus, it is still a matter of opinion.

IME the one thing that passives have over the actives I've had is transparency -- that 'air' between instruments and voices. Contributing to this is that there are no active electronics so noise floor is lower as well.

It seems like it comes down to body vs transparency in most of these arguments. I am using a Promitheus Ref TVC since most of what i read about passives is that TVC's are superior and play nicer with others then other passive variants.

For the record, i love my TVC. it doesn't seem to suffer, to my ears, to the lack of body argument. What I do run into is lack of gain. This has to do with the other components in my system, including 87db sensitive speakers, but it can be an issue as is well documented.

Tholt,
Dude you beat me to the post. I was about to post my reply and saw that you already mentioned the TVC. You are damn right about the TVC. I use the Promitheus Ref C-Core and it is everything I wanted. When mated with a proper amp, the combination is awesome!! The sensitivity of the power amp is very important though. Preferably less than 1.5V. Quoting a audio guru - "with a high sensitive amp, a TVC will work its magic by increasing the current and lowering the output impedance for the signal it sends to the amplifier."

And YES - all the aspects of music are preserved by the TVC - dynamics, body, texture, weight, etc. But remember - you need a highly sensitive power amp.

Mrtennis, it is true there are those who do not like imaging, bass extension, smoothness or clarity. I've met them, but generally I find that I don't care for their opinions as they are so far from reality. It is my opinion that the more it sounds like reality, the better :)