Hello NAD C275,
I do not believe that you are being dissed because of your amp.
Most people have never heard a direct feed from a CD player to
an amp. Many amps deliver more than 10db above the normal
listening volume. That is over twice as loud as you want to hear.
I ran into this problem about 20 years ago and began the search
that you are on. The solution will sound simple but it will require
you to spend some time at it. All active and passive preamps
leave a noise and distortion thumb print. What you need is a way
to divide the voltage between two resistors of the highest quality
you can find. I would use Vishay naked, or Mills, or your Choice.
First you need to find out what the values need to be. You will need
to find a volume control that is about 10-50k( for SS or 50k-500k for tubes)
that does not ad much color or noise. The first one I tried was a
cheep Radio Shack. I now use DACT. They are not cheep but you
get what you pay for. Place it between your CD player and amp.
Adjust the volume to your most used. This will change slightly from
day to day and the CD you are listening to. Remove it (being careful
not to change it at all) and measure the resistances across it. This is
your starting point. Go to a company that carries high quality resistors.
Google Vishay and high end audio parts to find sources. Cut a low price
connector about 55-65% through so that the ground shield is still connected.
Strip the outside down about a one fourth of an inch and twist and ad the
shield wires to the still connected area. Connect the series resistor between
the cut center leads (hot). Connect the other resistor to the amp end of the hot
wire resistor end and the other end to the Ground Shield. This is now a
voltage divider. Make sure the hot and grounds are not touching and are not
able to touch anything. Use electrical tape for this. You can now connect it to
your CD player and amp. You will only hear what the series resistor sounds
like as long as you use the same type to ground. Electrons flow from ground
to +. Not + to ground. Think about it. Good luck! Happy Listening! My Best.
I do not believe that you are being dissed because of your amp.
Most people have never heard a direct feed from a CD player to
an amp. Many amps deliver more than 10db above the normal
listening volume. That is over twice as loud as you want to hear.
I ran into this problem about 20 years ago and began the search
that you are on. The solution will sound simple but it will require
you to spend some time at it. All active and passive preamps
leave a noise and distortion thumb print. What you need is a way
to divide the voltage between two resistors of the highest quality
you can find. I would use Vishay naked, or Mills, or your Choice.
First you need to find out what the values need to be. You will need
to find a volume control that is about 10-50k( for SS or 50k-500k for tubes)
that does not ad much color or noise. The first one I tried was a
cheep Radio Shack. I now use DACT. They are not cheep but you
get what you pay for. Place it between your CD player and amp.
Adjust the volume to your most used. This will change slightly from
day to day and the CD you are listening to. Remove it (being careful
not to change it at all) and measure the resistances across it. This is
your starting point. Go to a company that carries high quality resistors.
Google Vishay and high end audio parts to find sources. Cut a low price
connector about 55-65% through so that the ground shield is still connected.
Strip the outside down about a one fourth of an inch and twist and ad the
shield wires to the still connected area. Connect the series resistor between
the cut center leads (hot). Connect the other resistor to the amp end of the hot
wire resistor end and the other end to the Ground Shield. This is now a
voltage divider. Make sure the hot and grounds are not touching and are not
able to touch anything. Use electrical tape for this. You can now connect it to
your CD player and amp. You will only hear what the series resistor sounds
like as long as you use the same type to ground. Electrons flow from ground
to +. Not + to ground. Think about it. Good luck! Happy Listening! My Best.