2. amps-preamps
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Who is using passive preamps and why?

Seldom has there been any discussions on passive preamps in the forums and although my experience with them has been limited I have found them so far to be very enjoyable and refreshingly different. They seem to fall into their own category, somewhere between solid state and tube. Finding a preamp that is satisfing has been difficult. Some active solid state preamps can be very good but they seem to inject grain to some degree in the upper registers and some tube preamps are not too far behind. So far I think they should at least be matched up with an amp that has sufficient gain which is often overlooked. Which passives are you using and with what amp? Why do you like them?
phd
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,318 posts
 
Passives (I am referring to TVCs) are amazing if you have the correct system matching. I am always surprised to hear wimpy and anemic associated with Passive preamps. Either I have a very good system match or people have not heard Passives with R-Core transformers.
maddoggy
77 posts
 
i settled on Axiom,s passive pre.I,ve a ar l/s2 Special 2 of a kind modded piece. Great sound.Bested forte 40,rotel 1098,& the ar,also a techs super piece .Mated with the rite cables,crisp, clear sounds.very life like.Try the modded,I wish I had
rrog
1,958 posts
 
I am not aware of one single amplifier manufacturer that designs a matching passive preamp to compliment their amplifiers.
If you want to select components, speakers and wire around a volume control it's ok with me. I prefer the sound of an active preamp because it sounds like music.


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pubul57
3,712 posts
 
There is at leat one fella that designs a passive preamp around his amps, Roger Modjeski if Music Reference - a "simple" resistor-based attenuator - of course it is house with an active phono stage. He is adamant about the superiority of a passive linestage, which get's my attention knowing is perfectly capable of designing any kind of premaplification he wants. I still use an active preamp with his amps though....
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