Placette linestage vs. Adcom 750 passive

Hello iSanchez. I misspelled "Promitheus Audio" and you are correct - C-core improves. I had it - its great with Spectron monoblocks because you have enough bass and fantastic 3D sound stage - with other amps its good but its only sub $1k preamp...

Bent is also good but Promithieus finish is unbelivable and I have a weakness for nice looking audio equipment.

Did you ever hear Placette? dry, dry, dry...

Perhaps you don't know what the term, "transparent" means. You don't "hear" a Placette AT ALL. If what is passed to your amp is "dry", that's what your source is delivering. Some people prefer colorations/inaccuracies in their reproduction. If this is what you are seeking, the Placette will not deliver, as it will add(or subtract) nothing to(or from) the signal. If you want to hear exactly what the source is delivering, the Placette is the passive for you.

I have had the Adcom and currently have the Placette with Merlin speakers. The Placette was significantly better in every way. On my system the Adcom sounded brittle and bright while the Placette, still slightly on the dry side, toned down the highs, solidified the imaging and had a more coherent presentation. I would recommend the Placette over the Adcom. I can’t comment on the other passive preamps.

What is being compared here, the Placette remote volume control (passive) or the Placette active linestage (unity gain, but it utilizes an active buffer stage). I own, though I no longer use, the Placette Active. In my system, the Active was more dynamic and musically engaging than the passive remote volume control.

I have used a Placette with Merlin's as well. It was a huge improvement over an audio research pre I had previous to it. Incredibly clean sound, very smooth. I now have a Joule but have kept the Placette as I couldn't part with it. the Joule may be a bit more euphonic but not as detailed. I enjoy them both. It's been a while since I had the placette in the system. I guess the real test that says it works in my system, is the I am looking forward to hearing it in the system again with a degree of excitement, it performed that well in certain ways.