Tbg, you sound like my 18 yr old when he wants something and can't get it! I'm not looking for an apology from you. Why would I ask for something that I don't care about and you certainly would never offer? That would just be drama - but you know about that, right.... BTW, I don't think Tvad is questioning my manners. You might want to check with him first before you start enlisting allies. Anyone want to jump in the deep end with tbg? And, who said I can't afford what you've got? And who cares! Jeezz...
F1a, let me think about it, and when I have a bit more time. On Supratek, I sold mine. It was an early version and it was getting long in the tooth. I was really sorry to hear about Mick. I did that review really early when he just started distributing in the States and he was always a straight up guy. I'm mulling over Shindo on a pre. Not sure if I should go Masseto or just right to Giscours. Then, again, the Doshi Alaap MkII looks intriguing. I almost did a deal with Nick Doshi on a Lectron JH50 years back and he was a class act too, which is important to me. Then again, that Raven looks mighty sweet too. Ah, the obsession rears its ugly head! In transition, right now I'm listeing to my old Joule LA200, which I will never sell for sentimental reasons and because its a nice back up, but with a MkV phono stage that Jud just put out. As I noted in my review of the Joule line stage about eight thousand years ago, it has its limitations, but this phono stage is intoxicating, and I just bought a nice record collection and I am kind of having a hard time coming up for air - which is a good thing!
Hello Publul57. I hesitate to talk about passives because people are so divided on them. I have always maintained that in the best, well-balanced sytems, the preamp is the fulcrum of the whole. Everything is important at that level, but the pre seems especially so. In beginning systems, build out from speakers, but later, I have done best setting the speaker choice (because its so personal), then getting a pre, then filling in the gaps, carefully. There's more than one way, of course, to skin a cat (see how I resisted that!) so everyone has a different way. That has just worked for me. With a passive, it seems like you drop it in last, as if to balance out a lack of transparency. I remember when Steve Stone at Stereophile many years ago pushed passives. I would venture that it didn't go over for a reason. On the other hand, some guys out there love the AA Capitole direct into amps, and they seem to have good ears. Maybe the passive thing has gotten better since I listened. My experience has been that they lack a certain foundation to the music. Not a thinness per se, although that can happen, but a lack of, how do I put this, harmonic density. I'm open on the issue, but that's what I thought the last time I headed into those waters. I've also got a Air Tight 10W SET amp with an attenuator, and I've always preferred it with a pre - for whatever that is worth. And, you know, with the Shindo Augieres out there, I'd be hard pressed to advise anything else at that place. On the divide, given my experience, I would look at SS actives before I'd go passive, but that's just me. On resistor/transformer, I really don't have enough experience there to say. Sorry. BTW, what do you think about passives these days? I would be interested.
