Dodd preamp vs. McCormack RLD-1 preamp

I think soundstage depth is comparable, but the Dodd seems a bit wider. What is more noticeable to my is the slightly better dynamics of the active - but this is hair splitting -the BENT in the right system works very well in most audio regards. I think the move from passive resistor to tvc/avc is much bigger that the difference between the BENT and the Dodd. I suspect tube rolling will also take the Dodd in different directions.

Es347, keep in mind this is strictly my opinion based on what I was hearing with my room acoustics & associated gear/speakers at the time. In fact my LS3 and RLD-1 was used with a McCormack DNA-1 amp Rev. B but I also was refering to the Platinum RLD-1 and not the stock unit for a comparison.

The Dodd looks very interesting and although I have not heard one, I am very curious about its performance/design. Based on the enthusiastic responses above & what I have read, it could be the Dodd may better both the RLD-1 & LS3 and is worth looking into.

Es347, what I think you might find interesting is what tubes can do for you that you might like. The Dodd is not tubey in the classic sense, it is very neutral and balance in the bass and treble, but it does have bloom and very realistic portrayl of space and instruments within the soundstage that I can never seem to get from SS pres or amps. This sort of thing is addictive, or not, but tubes can do this in a way that SS never has to my ears. What is also nice about the Dodd is you can proabably run it for 20,000 hours without having to worry about replacing the the tubes and with a 200ohm output impedance, which is very low for a tube preamp, you can drive almost any amp, including the McCormack. I don't know if you will prefer it to the SS you are accustomed to, but it will be different, and IMHO a more musical rendering - but I don't and can't settle the SS/tube argument...

Yep, Dodd's impedance is quite low for tube design.
Isabella on the other hand (keep in mind that Dodd and Isabella are very similar if you compare the facts)
output at just under 1K. You might acctualy have a better luck matching Dodd with whatever your heart desires.
One of the features the Dodd is missing and which Isabella includes on back of the unit, is the gain switch(12db+). That will makes it easier to integrade with most systems. While we tried to find out if it had any negative effect on the sound quality, I must honestly say that if there was, I didn't sense any.

Pubul57,
like you said....it is system dependent and matter of taste.
But Dodd in my book is an easy recommendation and very well balanced preamp. Unless you are looking for certain coloration and want to use your preamp as the tunning tool.

The gain switch would be a fantastic feature to add to the Dodd. I can run passive with no gain issues, it would very nice to have 0, +6db, +16db (or someting like that) toggle switch, but alas. I do agree that it would be a pretty important feature for use with different front ends and/or amps. I asked Gary if I could reduce the gain, giving me more play with the volume control, but it does not appear it can be done - unless I misunderstood him.

I would like to thank Spencer (sbank) for recommending I try the Dodd; I'm glad I did.