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
Hi Chuck,(Lacee) it is good to hear it got there safe and sound, and your initial listening session is positive. Please give us a more in depth review after a couple of more days, I think you will find even more will be discovered.
As for your findings of the sound difference of the two separate wall warts, I have an idea which may be the answer. One of them could be a Switchmode (SMP) and the other a Linear. Depending on quality of the Switchmode they can sound "zippy". As they can inject HF rubbish into the circuit by air or through the wiring.
They are hard to tell apart visually but usually for similar power (mA) eg: between 300mA to say 500mA ratings, a Switchmode wall wart will be much lighter than the a Linear wall wart.
Let us know how you go.
Cheers George
Thanks George for confirming that what I was hearing wasn't my imagination.

I've been on a "power first" approach to this hobby for the last few years,so it doesn't surprise me that the quality of the wall wart could affect the sound.

I hope to explore some alternatives,some of which
are twice the cost of the Lightspeed, but I'm no stranger to using ancilliaries that cost more than the components they are plugged into.

I feel your product is more than deserving of the best power they can get.
Perhaps something from you in the future?

From a weight perspective, the heavier one, the one with the ability to switch plugs of different sizes and switch values is the heavier,but it has the zingy sound.
But I'll try it again and see if I change my opinion now that the LPS has aged somemore.

What I really find interesting is how we ,audiophiles,seem to have a preference for colourations.
We all seem to want to find the special poridge that is just right,but that means something different to everyone.

Tube vs solid state,it's all colourations, trade-offs and preferences.Over the years we tend to find gear that is a comfortable fit,like a nice pair of well fitting shoes that we've grown accustomed to.
New shoes seldom feel the same as the old ones did,until they too are near their expiry date or fall out of fashion.

Audio gear is much the same.
What's new is either embraced or scorned,it's a revelation or it's snake oil.
It's just a re-badged version of something that came before it, or it's just not as good as they used to make back in the good old days.

But sometimes something does come along that seems to be out of step with what's been going on in audio over the last few years.

A product that sounds way better than it's price would lead you to believe.
A product that really doesn't fit into either the tube or solid state camp, and one that doesn't have as many sonic colourations as some of the best of each.

This I find is the most impressive characteristic of the LPS.
It just gets out of the way and lets you hear more of the cd and less of what the pre-amp is adding to the sound of the cd.
It's like a pre amp - not.

I'm not a newbie,here's a few of the pre amps I've owned,in different systems however.
Dynaco,RGR,Mark Levinson, CJ Premier 2,Audio Valve Eklipse,
Sonic Frontiers, Blue Circle Galatea,and I know I'm leaving some out,but perhaps there's a reason why I've forgotten those.

Everyone of those preamps were good, at least to my ears, and so is my present pre, the Manley Steelhead,which replaced a Sutherland PHD, which was no slouch either, but only a phono stage.
But they all had a "sound" which they imparted on the music.
I never really knew how much of a sound most highly regarded preamps have until I heard the LSP.

I'll have to rehash the old war horse terminology of "hearing things for the forst time in my cds", but that's an apt description of what the Lightspeed Attenuator does for me.

If you have assembled a decent system and you want to hear what those components really sound like, as oppossed to how they sound with added colourations, then I think you would be as pleased as I am with the Lightspeed.
I got George Lightspeed attenuator directly from him and is using with my Bryston 3bsst . earlier I was using Luminous Audio Axiom walker modded Passive Pre. In short , there is lot of improvements in terms of transparency of sound . Overall sound is also more smooth on ear .
Highly satisfied owner .
Thanks George for such a wonderful product at a budget price.
I just recieved my lightspeed this morning. First off, George does great business. He e-mailed me back three or four times a day in the beginning in order to answer any and all of my questions. Second, he over delivers on his promises. I was expecting it would take 5 to 7 weeks for me to recieve my lightspeed and it took about three weeks.

Now, for the sound. Talk about transparent and detailed! My system had some grunge, a little bit of mid range mud I guess you could say. Well it's all gone; all of it. My sound is so clear and transparent that if I had to stop here with the upgrades, I'd finally be satisfied. Everything from here (power cords, isolation footers for my components, more room treatments, analysis plus interconnects), it's all icing on the cake. I have finally got the sound I was after.

This "pre amp" is worth it's weight in gold. Don't buy one, buy two and give one to a friend. I'm serious, they're that good.

Thanks again, George!
:-)
Yep, another "normal" comment from a first time Lightspeed Owner !

Mine's coming up to it's 7th year of use now. Still haven't found aything to beat it for a single input Attenuator, when correctly implemented.

Cheers

Scott