Passive preamp vs. powered

Up to this point my comments have been directed at Passive Volume Controls. TVCs are another matter- if done properly they solve a lot of the issues that PVCs cannot address; I think they represent far greater bang for the buck than PVCs.

So it is harder to beat TVCs with a good line stage whereas beating a PVC is like shooting fish in a barrel. The problem you run into with TVCs is ringing due to improper loading of the transformer, and I find that there are still the losses that I always find transformers doing. Proper design can reduce these issues! Nevertheless they do not have the 'turn down the volume = turn down the bass and dynamics' problem that PVCs have.

Mr. Tennis, your remarks address mediocre equipment quite well but there is a league of equipment transcendent to such comments. 'Better' refers to greater resolution, wider bandwidth, natural dynamic punch, more natural tonality, improved soundstage... You can always ask me to clarify and I will be happy to do so. My use of the term 'better' in this thread does refer (but is not limited to) to the prior list of attributes.

OP, I guess the answer is it depends. It depend on the system context, and it depends on your preference for the type of sound that appeals to you. I will see that in a properly matched system (CD with 100Kohm input impedance on the amp and low capacitance (or short) ICs) it is pretty darn hard to beat the value of something like the Bent Transformer or Autoformer (I prefer)TVCs. I can tell you that it is very well designed, sounds great, and will give most if not all active linestages a mighty tough time justifying the cost difference, which doesn't mean you won't fine a wonderful tube preamp that does something for you that makes the price worth paying.

hi ralph:

i appreciate your specifics--denotation and connotation, of what better is. however, as audio is one of many aesthetic endeavors of life, opinion is the final arbiter.

if i say it is beter its is better for me, but perhaps not better for you. you can choose objective criteria. hwoever, within that arbitrary context which is not knowledge, someone else may create other objective criteria which disagrees with your assertions. thus, it is still a matter of opinion.

IME the one thing that passives have over the actives I've had is transparency -- that 'air' between instruments and voices. Contributing to this is that there are no active electronics so noise floor is lower as well.

It seems like it comes down to body vs transparency in most of these arguments. I am using a Promitheus Ref TVC since most of what i read about passives is that TVC's are superior and play nicer with others then other passive variants.

For the record, i love my TVC. it doesn't seem to suffer, to my ears, to the lack of body argument. What I do run into is lack of gain. This has to do with the other components in my system, including 87db sensitive speakers, but it can be an issue as is well documented.

Tholt,
Dude you beat me to the post. I was about to post my reply and saw that you already mentioned the TVC. You are damn right about the TVC. I use the Promitheus Ref C-Core and it is everything I wanted. When mated with a proper amp, the combination is awesome!! The sensitivity of the power amp is very important though. Preferably less than 1.5V. Quoting a audio guru - "with a high sensitive amp, a TVC will work its magic by increasing the current and lowering the output impedance for the signal it sends to the amplifier."

And YES - all the aspects of music are preserved by the TVC - dynamics, body, texture, weight, etc. But remember - you need a highly sensitive power amp.