ether
The Sony Hap-Z1ES has 2.1v output from a 230ohm source a great match for a 10kohm passive such as the $49 Shiit Sys, and you can return it if you don’t like it. And you’ll have plenty of gain with the AR amp, and it’s got input impedance of a very high 300kohms another great match for a passive.
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
