Passive and active

roncagg

roncagg

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2013
Messages
116
Location
Tuckahoe, NY
I've been doing a lot of reading about passive preamps, because I bought a 2nd hand Spectron amp for my Gallo Ref 3.1s - they deserve it after many years of too little power (IMO). Anyway Spectron recommends some pretty expensive tube preamps, while Anthony Gallo advises against any, he likes to drive it directly from the source. This appeals to me, hearing the amp "natively".

Well I don't have a volume control on my DAC, so....
  1. Niteshade audio passive preamp
    This couldn't be simpler, a volume control wired straight to the output from the inputs, and an input selector ($220-but I could probably have made it myself for less), no caps, resistors, and no power required. Results: surprisingly good! On paper not the best input/output impedance match, but I didn't hear obvious audible effects, and got a good sense of what the amp is about. There was a slight harshness at the top end though, and I felt I was throttling the amp's gain somewhat.
  2. Decware csp2 tube preamp
    Nice tube preamp and headphone amp, simple SET design with adjustable gain per channel ($600 on Audiogon). Well, this complemented the Spectron very well, adding some flesh to it and sounding less lean at the high frequency end. It sounds "right" in a way that is hard to articulate. I like the synergy of this combo very much.
Finally I have one more test to do before landing in the active preamp camp for my setup - Nelson Pass's B1 buffer (no gain, but powered), a device that will better match the input/output impedances. I have all the parts and will start building soon. Stay tuned for my observations, once I have any. Meantime I would love to hear your experiences with passive preamps.
 
roncagg said:
I've been doing a lot of reading about passive preamps, because I bought a 2nd hand Spectron amp for my Gallo Ref 3.1s - they deserve it after many years of too little power (IMO). Anyway Spectron recommends some pretty expensive tube preamps, while Anthony Gallo advises against any, he likes to drive it directly from the source. This appeals to me, hearing the amp "natively".

Well I don't have a volume control on my DAC, so....
  1. Niteshade audio passive preamp
    This couldn't be simpler, a volume control wired straight to the output from the inputs, and an input selector ($220-but I could probably have made it myself for less), no caps, resistors, and no power required. Results: surprisingly good! On paper not the best input/output impedance match, but I didn't hear obvious audible effects, and got a good sense of what the amp is about. There was a slight harshness at the top end though, and I felt I was throttling the amp's gain somewhat.
  2. Decware csp2 tube preamp
    Nice tube preamp and headphone amp, simple SET design with adjustable gain per channel ($600 on Audiogon). Well, this complemented the Spectron very well, adding some flesh to it and sounding less lean at the high frequency end. It sounds "right" in a way that is hard to articulate. I like the synergy of this combo very much.
Finally I have one more test to do before landing in the active preamp camp for my setup - Nelson Pass's B1 buffer (no gain, but powered), a device that will better match the input/output impedances. I have all the parts and will start building soon. Stay tuned for my observations, once I have any. Meantime I would love to hear your experiences with passive preamps.
Click to expand...

Hi Ron i have a few friends with very expensive gear using this passive preamp, very good - very nice - also very reasonable price.

Stereoknight 01.jpg - - - Stereoknight 02.jpg - - - Stereoknight 03.jpg - - - Stereoknight Remote Control.jpg - - - Stereoknight Remote Control. Back.jpg - - -

passive preamp,preamp
 
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