Passive Pre - No Regrets?

Pubul57, my man, you have done me a BIG favour by starting this thread! :-)
I had EXACTLY the same idea/thought (to swap out my CAT SL1 Sig Mk 3 for a passive 'cuz it has too much gain & the resistor attenutor volume control has large steps, which is the ONLY thing that drives me crazy with this preamp) & (as coincidence would have it) even shared my thoughts on this with Ozzy62.

I also would be very interested in reading your comments on the Placette resistor VC (& any other passive pre you might try). Please post them in this thread. Thanks!

"There is a good and simple reason there are so many comments on this thread favoring active line stages: the issue is real."

There are even more favoring passives. Not that either proves anything.

"But any line section that has a low enough output impedance will drive a single-ended cable quite well- this is how 50 ohm cable for video can work."

My Museatex Bitsream dac has an output of 3V@300ohms. My Art Audio amp has a sensitivity of 0.7V and input impedence of 180kOhms. I don't seem to have any problems and prefer the TVC to any active preamp I have used within my price range.

Different tools for different tastes.

A funny story for Atmasphere(and others),

4-5(maybe 3-4) years ago I called Jack Elliano of Electra-Print (of transformers and DRD/Ultrapath amps fame) about winding a transformer volume control for me. At the time, S&B TVC's seemed excessively expensive and I was looking for an affordable US substitute. (I know have S&B)

Jack is a great guy and wealth of knowledge about all things audio, especially transformers. Even better, he loves to talk about the subject just as much for conversation as doing business.

He spent at least a half hour with me outlining all the fundamental engineering reasons why a TVC was inferior to active linestages and why he would never make/sell one even though he had been getting a lot of calls about them. He wasn't being condescending, rude, or defensive about the subject, just the reasons why his 20+ years of experience led him to believe they were a fad and not anything of lasting merit. I aked if he would ever give them a try and he said there was no reason.

Well, low and behold, Jack and Electra-Print now sell a transofrmer based volume control he refers to as a "Passive Volume Attenuator" preamp (bottom of page). His version of the TVC might be slightly different because it was desinged to load the output transistors of your source so they can deliver optimal current. His PVA then converts that current to an equivelent voltage.

Noentheless, I applaud Jack's open mind when it comes to audio and engineering. After intial resistence, he began to seriously look into the subject which has resulted in a 180 degree change in his opinion. So much so, that he is putting his time, money, and company reputation behind it.

Great story Moebis!! He's still just as stubborn about tube amplifiers being the only amplifiers to use!LOL

I planned to try out one his units.I could never get anything setup concrete. He doesn't do the email thing very well. So I bought a unit else where.

I had to laugh at Mr.Sphere's comments about passives not being able to drive the cables... that's a pretty broad statement. With the right source some of these passives(TVCs) will spank an active all day long driving cables. Being he designs and builds active preamps..I'm not surprised at the negativity towards passives. Man.. this jet black background coloration is working for me.;-)

Good listening

Here's another one for you. Intact Audio

A transformer winder from hell. With discussion on how to tune the transformers to your system. Not for the faint of heart but results can be stupendous if you are willing to invest the time and effort to optimize it.