Won't preamps become obsolete?

Eldartford,

You are correct in assuming that a TVC is a multitap audio xformer. If done correctly they provide excellent sound today. Xformer technology has come a long way since the days you remember & really excellent sound can be had at a reasonable price. Personally I have heard a very inexpensive passive TVC from Antique Sound Labs (when I was in Atlanta listening to single driver speakers. You did make a post on that thread - it's the last one) & it was quite impressive. Basically, it had no sound! Plus, there was really no loss of high freq. content that I could tell in the 3-4 hrs I listened to that system. I believe that ASL wind their own xformers in-house (China).
Other TVCs made by Stevens & Billington are supposed to be excellent. You can check the freq. response of the same at their website: http://www.stevens-billington.co.uk/page102.htm
I know that it is each to his own but do not under-estimate the sonic performance of a TVC until you have actually heard one! Stellar sonic results are very much possible today. You'll be surprised.
I also know that these days a # of tube amps (both manuf & DIY) use a lot of coupling xformers in them with excellent results. I *think* Art Audio is one such brand & there is a highly regarded DIY personality (Art Loetsch?) who uses coupling xformers in his designs.
IMHO. FWIW.

Bombaywalla...Thanks for the very interesting info. I can understand the advantage of a transformer for a passive preamp, where impedance matching can be a problem. Also, the ability to provide a little gain is nice.

Except for the impedance issue a resistor ladder "if done correctly" should be as good or better. The info shows good frequency response, but nothing about distortion. No idea of price either.

Hi all:
I just put together the the DIYhifi tvc kit that uses the S&B transformers and I can report that they are very good. Especially at lower volumes. Specs and price for one at this site. A good value I think.

http://www.diyhifisupply.com/diy_kits/django.htm

There is also some good info a the S&B site above.

the question posed has many legs: quality of gain control in the CD player; impedence matching between the CD and the amp(s); whether or not you also run analog sources such as tuner, vinyl, tape, etc. There are a growing number of components trying to address these needs. Some are doing a better job then others. Some separate DAC's now sport some pretty good volume controls which will mate well with virtually all power amps ... however then you also need a good transport. Furthermore you need to address the usage issue ... do you also need a good A to D converter for the aforementioned analog sources? So far there aren't many made and even those that are out there aren't as advanced as the one box CD/Pre-amp units available. [unless they're modded] Total the cost of separates versus one or two box units and balance that against what you're getting out to see if you're on the right path. Then there is the spousal acceptance factor ...

jyprez...for about 350.00,you can send the 10a back to cj. and get the 10b upgrade.i did it last year and there is a significant resolution difference.the power supply is heftier also.