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Who is using passive preamps and why?

Seldom has there been any discussions on passive preamps in the forums and although my experience with them has been limited I have found them so far to be very enjoyable and refreshingly different. They seem to fall into their own category, somewhere between solid state and tube. Finding a preamp that is satisfing has been difficult. Some active solid state preamps can be very good but they seem to inject grain to some degree in the upper registers and some tube preamps are not too far behind. So far I think they should at least be matched up with an amp that has sufficient gain which is often overlooked. Which passives are you using and with what amp? Why do you like them?
phd
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
It is all about system building and matching between components, to the point where it come sometimes be a little misleading to even say what a particular tube sounds like absent any information of the circuit it is used in, I know the Roger Modjeksi's EL34 sound is different the CJs EL34 sound, so your left with the question, what does an EL34 sound like, and answer of course is, "it depends".

So I've been listening to the Goldpoint for a few hours, and without comparing at the this point, I would say that for $2,300 to get a Goldpoint ($312) and a Music Reference RM10MKII ($1950) you could be pretty darn happy running a pair of Merlin VSMs. For $312, the Goldpoint, in the right system is "stupidgood". As good as the Joule or Atmasphere preamps (or the CAT I used to own?)? I don't know yet, but you would be surprised how darn good a $312 preamp can sound.
clio09
3,353 posts
 
The Clio 9 is finished and in the system breaking in. Early returns are favorable. This design requires a bit more attention to impedance matching than other TVC designs, but the benefits are very easily heard.
chatta
314 posts
 
Passive preamps? Simple, i like them because they give you excellent sound for less money.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Chatta, that is beyond question. I've been going back forth on this a long time, I've concluded that great active linestages are better than passives, but that passives are better than many actives. But there is no doubt, that if you are on a budget, you will get exceptionally good performance from a passive for far less money than getting something comparable from an active at any where near the price point. A nice feature of the CD player is that it has a low and high output level, I can tell you with 4v output stage, there is no loss of dynamics with the passive setup (not reall a problem with 2v either).
phd OP
1,307 posts
 
I suppose that if your on a budget looking for the biggest bang for the buck than a passive could be the solution. On the other side of the coin there are some audiophiles that have enormous amount of money to spend towards this hobby and still go passive. Even a TLC-1 would require a substantial investment to get Smc's upgrades.
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