My Adcom GDA 700, feeds my Luminous Audio Axiom II, with Walker Mod, 3 in, 2 out ( single ended ), with remote, feeds any number of power amps. I replaced a few excellent preamps with this, soon after I purchased a very high gain power amp ( Nuforce STA 200 ). I am currently using an ADA PF 2501 amp in this configuration, and I never heard this amp before ( meaning, it never sounded this good ). No preamp for me. |
Another post about passive. Just try it, and, for a while. Believe me when I say, I had 2 preamps above an RP5 in sq, that colored the sound, held back details and information on my recordings, and unnaturally added balls and oomph to the music. Listen to SRVs " Tin Pan Alley ", a song many believe has been over played, but shows every attribute, and weakness, in a system. |
There is a poster on another thread that uses a 1/3rd octave 31 band eq, as his passive device ( it has dual channel gain controls ). He compared it, flat, to 5 K preamps, and says it is superior to his ears. I have the same eq ( and I tried it via his recommendation ), but did not feel it came close to my Luminous unit in sq. However, it bettered some of my cheapie preamps ( RGR, Hitachi, AGI, Citation, GAS, SAE, Dynaco ). I sold my 2 megabuck preamps, which were both bettered by my Luminous unit. |
Cleaner than the Sys...Ebay item # 253818627052...HiFi version. $40 or less, shipped. About what you would pay to build one. Promise.. |
George, I am sure you meant Black. Do those pictures say Black Beauty anywhere ? I cannot find it. I know about the Black bodied attenuators that Alps made, but they are no longer made, as the " Blue " does the trick. A buddy of mine purchased 4 of them, based on my recommendation of trying one, and he is using 2 per system, 1 for Left and one for right ( single channel only of the passive ), and tells me he hears an improvement in sq vs. using one. I have not been over to hear it, as he is out of state of my location, but, George, what do you think ? |
George, if you look further down on the Douk page of the device, in the specification section, it states that the Alps 27 pot is 50K ohms. I have not taken mine apart, which would be easy, but I am telling you, it sounds quite invisible. |
George, picture is just a picture. Did you know that Alps never referred to the control as a Blue Velvet. Nowhere on their web site have I found it. If you could find it, please post it. I believe some audiophile engineer, in using it, gave it that name. I am sorry Georgi, but this device is an EXCELLENT passive unit, for cheap, according to my ears, and the dozen or more power amplifiers I have tried with it. The control has a sexy, very high end feel, and the little box is non resonant, and built really well. Enjoy ! MrD. |
George has been saying all along, that with today's digital sources, with the lower impedances and 2 volt outputs, the gain stages of preamps are not necessary. I do concur with these findings. 25 years ago, or more, there were passive units available, or preamps with passive as an option ( I owned most of them; PSAudio, Superphon, Mod Squad, McCormack, and many more ). Passive was ok, but back then I preferred a preamp. It is interesting, that I own my 2 older Dacs, since '95 ( Adcom and AA ), and not until I bought ( for shits and giggles ) my 1st Nuforce STA200 this time in '17, did I realize passive was the way to go. As it turns out ( and I know Georgie is very critical on the impedance matching thing ), every power amp in my " still " collection, sounds better than I ever remember then sounding, without a preamp between the dacs and the amps. I have several tuners, and other sources that are just fabulous through the amps directly. And this cheap Douk Audio piece, is killer, for 40 clams. I am told by many ( people I personally know ), that George's LDR unit is the best there is, and I do not doubt it. Anyone today who prefers a preamp, imo, likes a bit of color, and whatever else the additional gain stage adds, or subtracts, or, their source is simply inadequate to drive an amp. Just my take on things. Still, no right or wrong; just go with what your ears tell you. Sorry for the rant, as my testosterone levels are high this morning / early afternoon ( which is good at almost 65 years of age ). Enjoy ! MrD. |
Georgie, fyi, emcdade is stating, in the last paragraph of his post, that his Perla pre " is a passive " unit. Man, you are always defensive and ready to fight. Relax there fella. |
George, you are correct, my friend. He does state in the beginning, that his Perla is both active and passive. Once again, YOU THE MAN ! Enjoy ! MrD. |
@emcdade...According to Perla Audio's web site of the new Maestro preamp : 3rd word, in the 1st sentence of it's description, it states " passive ". In the specification section, it states " gain = 0 ". So, I, too would like to see a link stating otherwise. If not, I accept your apology for being incorrect. If George and I are incorrect, please, just show us ? Enjoy ! MrD. |
emcdade, I would also like to see the link where it says " active ". According to the web site, the 3rd word of the very 1st sentence, of the Perla preamp description, says " passive ", so, show me the moneyyyyyyyyyy. Enjoy ! MrD. |
Well then, I too, emcdade, need to apologize as well, if in fact, this unit, as the one George found on Audiomart, is similar to the one you have. This " exact " Maestro model is not the one listed on their web site, so, a lot of confusion here. The piece looks very nice. Enjoy ! MrD. |
Another thing, emcdade, the last paragraph of your 1st post, you even state " how a passive preamp is doing this is a mystery to me ". You are obviously somehow confused. It is OK, we all get confused now and then. Except George. Enjoy ! MrD. |
