McCormack ALD-1 question

I want to thank you all for your kind words and your support. I don't know that I will be able to post here often, but I'll try to cruise by every now-and-then to see if someone needs factual information about my equipment. Many of the questions here are of the "how does amplifier X compare to Y and Z?" variety, and I will not enter into those discussions - that's up to you guys to sort-out ;-)

Incidentally, I just ran across the "McCormack Amps: highly overrated?" thread from September of last year. Wow! I must say it feels a little strange being the subject of such an exchange... I laughed, I cried, I threw-up ;-) But, in the end, it feels great to receive so much support from you guys - THANKS A LOT!!! It seems to me that most of you have figured-out that no piece of equipment is going to please everyone, and it is up to us as individuals to seek-out equipment that works for us and our systems. When it comes to enjoying music, no one's opinion matters as much as your own.

Thanks for listening.

Steve McCormack, designer
McCormack Audio Corp.
SMc Audio

The ALD-1 is a "conventional" preamp, meaning that it has an active gain stage with about +12dB of gain. It is unconventional in that it also has both buffered and unbuffered input paths, buffered tape output, a completely passive (no active gain circuit at all) output path, and balanced outputs (active only). So, to answer your specific question, when you listen through the passive outputs, the signal comes directly from the volume control (literally a straight-wire path). When you listen through the active outputs, the signal is being fed from the volume control into a gain stage that amplifies the signal before it is fed to the output jacks - which is typical of most preamp designs. There are strengths and weaknesses in both systems (active and passive), but most preamps offer one style or the other - the ALD-1 is one of the few designs offering both in the same package.

I hope this has answered your question. If you need more information, please contact me directly at [email protected]

Steve McCormack, designer
McCormack Audio Corp.
SMc Audio