Music Reference RM9 - user comments please

I auditioned Ozzy62's system several years ago. He used an RM9 with a K&K TVC, the sound was phenomenal! I'm a former owner of the MK2..terrific sounding amplifier...I wish I still owned one. These particular tube amplifiers have plenty of gain, making them passive friendly. You should at least try a TVC with it just for grins.If you like the pot..you'll love the TVC!

I have not used a TVC, but did have a Placette RVC and Placette Active at one time. I think Roger's Pot-in-a-Box with 30-year old + Noble potentiometer actually sounds better than the Placette RVC. I am curious about the transformer based passives, but I do wonder why Roger who can build whatever he wants thinks that is not the best approach, especially with his amps. I have to assume that a transformer must add distortion to some degree compared to pure passive volume control, and that it must be less than linear across the frequency spectrum, most notably on the extreme highs and lows - but I'm no engineer. I do know that with my source, short run of Cardas GR (super low capacitance)and both Roger's amps and my CAT JL2 with high sensitivity and high input impedance I have a pretty ideal set-up for a pure passive set-up. I'm not sure that a TVC might not be subtraction by addition in my case. I'll say if you have a RM10 or 9 and you have not tried a passive volume control you owe to yourself to try it, no matter what active linestage you are currently using. And if you are on a budgetm I can't imagine a much better entry level system than a Pot-in-the-Box matched to a used RM10.

I got the K&K TVC with dual volume controls and it works very well with RM9 and CAT JL2, but the Joule has its own charms so I guess I'll own two preamps (I mean 3) for a while. I placed an order for the RM9 Special Edition, I think EL34 based tubes amps work particularly well with my Merlin VSM-MXes. The Music Reference RM9 is the first tube amp I've had that has me seriously considering selling the CAT, which remains the best amp I have ever heard.

Plz follow up with a review of the RM9 SE. I'm a long-time RM9 owner and only recently have learned of the existence of these 'super' RM9's. I'm very interested about this amp.

Chazro, just to let you know. Roger built 18, kept one for himself, and has 5 or 6 left. I will report my observations once I have some time with it. Basic difference from a design perspective is that it is all hardwired, no boards, and uses a 6 tube driver stage (6bq7s) instead of the four 6922/6dj8s. I think he also put in some heavy duty bias pots and other tinkerings. I assume it is his most evloved thinking on the basic Ultralinear (8) EL34 tube design. One advantage over the CAT is I can pick it up:)