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Lightspeed Attenuator - Best Preamp Ever?

The question is a bit rhetorical. No preamp is the best ever, and much depends on system context. I am starting this thread beacuase there is a lot of info on this preamp in a Music First Audio Passive...thread, an Slagle AVC Modules...thread and wanted to be sure that information on this amazing product did not get lost in those threads.

I suspect that many folks may give this preamp a try at $450, direct from Australia, so I thought it would be good for current owners and future owners to have a place to describe their experience with this preamp.

It is a passive preamp that uses light LEDs, rather than mechanical contacts, to alter resistance and thereby attenuation of the source signal. It has been extremely hot in the DIY community, since the maker of this preamp provided gernerously provided information on how to make one. The trick is that while there are few parts, getting it done right, the matching of the parts is time consuming and tricky, and to boot, most of use would solder our fingers together if we tried. At $450, don't bother. It is cased in a small chassis that is fully shielded alloy, it gets it's RF sink earth via the interconnects. Vibration doesn't come into it as there is nothing to get vibrated as it's passive, even the active led's are immune as they are gas element, no filaments. The feet I attach are soft silicon/sorbethane compound anyway just in case.

This is not audio jewelry with bling, but solidly made and there is little room (if any) for audionervosa or tweaking.

So is this the best preamp ever? It might be if you have a single source (though you could use a switch box), your source is 2v or higher, your IC from pre-amp to amp is less than 2m to keep capaitance low, your amp is 5kohm input or higher (most any tube amp), and your amp is relatively sensitive (1v input sensitivity or lower v would be just right). In other words, within a passive friendly system (you do have to give this some thought), this is the finest passive preamp I have ever heard, and I have has many ranging form resistor-based to TVCs and AVCs.

In my system, with my equipment, I think it is the best I have heard passive or active, but I lean towards prefering preamp neutrality and transparency, without loosing musicality, dynamics, or the handling of low bass and highs.

If you own one, what are your impressions versus anything you have heard?

Is it the best ever? I suspect for some it may be, and to say that for a $450 product makes it stupidgood.
pubul57
teajay
1,333 posts
 
Hi Paul, thanks for your kind words towards me. As to be expected from you, words of wisdom:

1) Everybody finally has to audition for themselves to really know what works for them.

2) That unless you use tube power amps the Lightspeed might lack depth in the soundstage and what I call image density or air around individual players. Also tubes still offer, regardless were you have them in the chain, more natural timbres and the the body of the harmonic then SS or passives in my opinion. When I heard the Lightspeed it was with SS amps not tube amps. That's why I believe Paul gets such great performance out of this passive because he does use tube based amps. For me in my system I like SS amps with a tube based linestage to get what I'm looking for sonicly.

To respond to another great GON gentleman, Clio09, who was nice enough to even offer sending me his Lightspeed for me to audition and we have had nice chats regarding his experience with Concert Fidelity gear and his personal relationship with Mr.Tsuda. I'm not attacking George or his product. If you find it appealing to what you refer to in George's attitude as, "a bit cocky", I personally don't like arrogance in any form by anybody. You know George personally I don't, I still think he comes across not as a designer/builder with great confidence or pride over his product as he should, but somewhat condescending towards other viewpoints other then his own.Was your own example regarding that Nelson Pass on a DIY board posted a different version of the LDR proves that George ranks with some of the great designers of the audio world? My take on this is Nelson Pass is open minded about experimenting with different designs, gives credit when credit is do, and is the antithesis of cocky or arrogance. Enough said.

Clio09,when I used the term that George was forcing his product on this thread this was refering to how he comes across to me as being somewhat of a salesman, with the position that his take on what a linestage should offer is the only objective/correct one and this thread was turning into great unpaid advertisement for his piece. Finally, I don't care what happens on AA, my comment was regarding that I have no historical awareness that Ralph or any other well known designer has ever pushed as hard to sell his product as George has, if you can remember someone please share.
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
I think we can all agree in that in many ways Nelson Pass is one of the greatest designers on the planet. I always wonder what he might have done if he applied his efforts towards tube amplifiers, but at he said in his manuals, there were already a lot of great tube amplifiers and making a great sounding SS amp was a bigger challenge for him, he obviously succeeded!! I also suspect that if I had different speakers, I would have kept his XA30.5, the best SS amp I have heard, but my speakers are really designed for tube amps and damping is not a particular advantage for them. Why you can really judge a system, but much harder a piece on its own, and why there never will be can never can by a "best" in any product category, and why a good dealer or a good cadre of fellow audiophiles are so helpful in building a satisfying system. And Terry, your room doesn't hurt:)
knghifi
1,667 posts
 
Pubul57, you a good guy. Thanks for having a good sense of humor :-)
fiddler
581 posts
 
Teajay,

I haven't for a moment felt that Georgelofi was "selling". Defending? Sure, and rightly so.

In my opinion, there have been numerous manufacturers, modders, retailers, etc. that have been egregious in attempting to sell their wares here on the 'Gon, and possibly even Ralph Karsten. I have great respect for Mr. Karsten, but I have ocassionnaly thought that his responses on the 'Gon were as much about sales as defending his products.

If George's motive here was about selling, why would he have given his product away to the DIY community for free? Jump over to DIYaudio and look at the thread there. He gave his design away for free from the very beginning and he made countless posts there trying to help guys with their build. The LSA thread at DIYaudio makes this thread pale in comparison. I reiterate, why would a guy who has freely given his design away for free push hard to sell it here? It doesn't make any sense and it would be counter-productive.

I suspect, based on results, George could be selling the LSA for easily twice what he is selling it for.

Given the facts, your accusation appears hollow, in my opinion.
teajay
1,333 posts
 
Please Fiddler, accusation has such a negative and bombastic tone to it. The only example I will give of someone who has given so much to the DIY community is Nelson Pass, yet he has never on any post here on Audiogon marketed his wares or ever stated his opinions as the only veiwpoint regarding performance as the absolute truth as far as I can tell, like the man that you say I'm unfairly challanging.

I just shared my opinion regarding my impression of how George comes across to me on this thread, somewhat negatively towards any design that he deems not being totally true to the source, what ever that means, and secondly this not DIYaudio, but Audiogon were threads normally are not used by designers to sell products, and if they do they are rightly called out on it.

Finally, your statement regarding George's reason for posting have nothing to do with selling because he gave it away for free to the DIY community, hum, has not Nelson Pass done the same thing, yet has never pushed his products like George has on this thread.

Sorry, if my impressions regarding George's motivation comes across as a personal attack on the man to you. I don't know George, I'm not a member of the DIY community, and I don't want to jump this fine thread with this side bar discussion regarding George. I'm sure George is a good guy who makes a very good product at a very reasonable price.
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