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ultimate final word 3 on best passive preamp

attenuator volume control top of the line #1 winner incredible fantastic deal of the century world class a. i have started a series here and included all these words to help newbies find this thread, this is so that someone new or not so new can make this the last stop before buying a passive volume control. can those who have experience with this area share with others what passive volume control is their choice and why and also which have been a disappointment thanks these are the ones i found so far i am not endorsing any just listing what is available and by the way some of these are available as kits to be soldered some are assembled, here they are: placette, machand, goldpoint, michael percy, evs ric shultz, transcendent, bent. please don't respond if you have nothing positive to contribute i welcome criticism if it's constructive but to those snobs who can only afford kharmas god bless your little soul and hey let's all agree on something "life like" does not replace the concert hall or the live performance "life like" means similiar and not exactly the same. for those who lack awareness we all know that the speaker will not replace the real thing but we are all here trying to get closer to it.
pedrillo
flg2001's avatar
flg2001
543 posts
 
I have had some experience with passive preamps (currently looking for a transformer-based option)

The best one IN my system was a First Sound Reference II Passive, I am still kicking myself for selling it.

Fernando
howie
230 posts
 
i welcome criticism if it's constructive but to those snobs who can only afford kharmas bless your little soul

Excuse me? In your other rants...err... threads you talked about this being a learning place and that one shouldn't be defensive. Judging from your comments I assume it is alright to be offensive then?

Another friendly advice that applies to music and audiophile gear. Articulation and phrasing is very important.

The Placette is very special IMO.

bombaywalla's avatar
bombaywalla
1,958 posts
 
During Christmas 2003 I had the opportunity to hear the ASL T1-DT, which costs $495. I personally felt that this little passive pre was very transparent & rendered the music with a lot of soul.
I did not get a chance to hear its big brother T2-DT.
glreno
224 posts
 
I have owned the Placette, the ASL, Ultimate Attenuators, and a wide variety of active pre-amps. The Silver Rock is the best I've heard, but is ridiculously expensive for what it is. A more cost efficient alternative would be the Bent with silver autoformers, or the Sonic Euphoria.
s23chang
620 posts
 
Still find the passive lack of attack. Indeed it is on par with top of line active. Very nice low level detail with good clean seperation. Since it is passive, it is never harsh and it is nice and sweet sound. Also found it slightly slower pace than active.
It is like listen to 122 rpm LP at 118 rpm.
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