2. amps-preamps
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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
phd OP
1,008 posts
 
TVAD, you have the ultimate preamp! The VRE-1 is very spendy but beautiful and one day I will own one even if I have to wait. I understand that all the years of Steve McCormack's culmative knowledge has gone into the VRE-1. Even his earlier model the TLC-1 is not chopped liver but certainly not in the same category as the VRE-1. However I never thought of the TLC-1 lacking in dynamics especially when paired with one of his amps.
phd OP
1,008 posts
 
Herman, thankyou sir for correcting me and pointing out this subject has been debated to death. Realistically I think that most subjects that have been put forth in the forums have been repeated over & over again. However there are some new products that have evolved that could be discussed & their attributes and possibly offer some insight to someone that is considering a passive.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Phd, I have paired the VRE-1 with Pass Labs XA-60.5 with excellent results. The Lotus Group room at CES that received rave reviews pairing the VRE-1 with Pass Labs XA-30.5 amps. I can say the VRE-1/Pass Labs XA-.5 match is optimal, IMO.

Presently, I have the VRE-1 paired with George Wright Signature AU-15 tube amps. Both the Pass XA-60.5 and AU-15 amps have low input sensitivity specifications (1.1 mV and 1 mV respectively). I'm wondering if this is relevant to the good matches..?
paulfolbrecht
586 posts
 
People that appear to have drawn conclusions about passives without considering the critical issues - the impedances & voltages involved - haven't drawn meaningful conclusions.

A well-known member here could not find any active better than his Placette Passive until he got to the $18,000 DarTZeel. I believe he tried a great many. I think at the time he had the Placette most or all other components in his system were 10-20x as expensive as it.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Both the Pass XA-60.5 and AU-15 amps have low input sensitivity specifications (1.1 mV and 1 mV respectively).
Tvad (Threads | Answers)
This was an error. The specs should be 1.1V and 1V respectively.
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