Mitch2, Rwwear, and the rest of the community: Supposing the amp in question is a nice... a VERY nice (!), little vintage EL-84 job, single-ended, of course... and you want the cream de la cream minimalist input/driver circuit for it (DIY) -- you'll need phase-splitting somewhere (at the input, or maybe even as a parafeed phase-splitting "driver" transformer, given the low voltage swing those EL-84's are looking for) -- how would the step-down versions of the Jensen transformers sound vs. the normal 1:1's? I note that 1) These are rated to handle some pretty high voltages, if need be, 2) They would present a MUCH more source [output stage] friendly load used at the input, and 3) the specs on paper far exceed those for the 1:1's. Has anyone auditioned the difference in some context?
Off hand, I don't know the input sensitivity of Podolaw's BAT, but with the tube preamp, he should have some voltage swing "to burn" with a typical Red Book spec output on the source. Then, too, advancing that volume control usually improves both channel balance tracking and the quality of sound. Does this make some sense to anyone else?
Off hand, I don't know the input sensitivity of Podolaw's BAT, but with the tube preamp, he should have some voltage swing "to burn" with a typical Red Book spec output on the source. Then, too, advancing that volume control usually improves both channel balance tracking and the quality of sound. Does this make some sense to anyone else?