Hi Chris,

I agree, not everyone is going to like passive preamps and you need address various matching conditions. This is an area where cables can make a difference. There are different types of stepped attenuators that use different components. I have mad (tweaked) a few. The difference can be quite big. What you can get with them is a increase in resolution & detail, what you may lose is bandwidth & dynamics.

I'm think of getting the Bent audio kit as this is a lot cheaper than the Music First job.

On to the music.

The albums listed are  excellent examples of recently released soul albums. Here the singing is the key.

All except the Candi Staton album were recorded within the last couple of years or so. Donnie is a new kid on the block & shows where soul music is at today.

Bill Withers has done some fine stuff in his time but it isn't Northern Soul. Northern Soul is a real minefield but an enjoyable one. It's made up of rare & obscure records. It was uptempo 60s soul based a lot around the classic Motown sound of the mid 60s. It got it's name due to being popular in the North of England.

The scene still carrys on today. It has a big collectors element with records going for big money.

Have a look here for an example of some of the prices.

I will write more on this & other subjects.

SCIDB