Preamp question

I've been dithering over this for bloomin ages, and have yet to come to a decision, maybe a helpful someone on here could give me a shove in the right direction......

I've got a Leak Stereo 20 (currently having a service with a man who can) and have been trying to decide what to do about a preamp for it. There's lots on the web about how well passive pre's work with the ST20 and there are various 2nd hand passive pre's about (or new ones from Hong Kong), but then I was told about potential issues with different attenuator values and loads and nagging doubts crept in. TVC passives apparently solve this but they're above my budget (~£100-150 tops).

Then there's obviously active preamps, and I'd very happily use something like a Croft (having had one before once upon a time) but there are few about at my price, and I haven't seen any other valve pre's at the right price either. Last option is a SS pre, but I wouldn't know which might be a good match for the Leak?

If I was sure that the ST20 and a good pre would beat my Unison Research Unico then maybe I'd be tempted to bite the bullet and sell that to pay for a better pre, but I'd also need to budget in a phono stage .

Help needed methinks....

 

The croft pre amps have too much gain with a stereo 20. a simple passive would be the best at that budget.

 

We ran a Stereo 20 with a (my) Promitheus TVC at a back-off not long ago - with very nice results. With your budget you should have no problems picking one up second hand.

 

Fair enough, a passive preamp it is, preferably a TVC. Tbh I've not seen any TVC's for less than £200 so if anyone spots one the right side of £150 then please do let me know! I think someone had a Promitheus for sale on here but it was just a bit too much for me, sadly .

 

Hi LT, I think you'll be fine with a TVC. I had a (borrowed) Stereo 20 for a while. I used it with a couple of passive preamps (a DACT attenuater and a TVC). It sounded great IMO into my Tannoy D700.

 

If you are not in too much of a hurry, mine may be available soon (and in budget).
Where are you?

 

I got my basic prometheus from Zerogain or Pinkfish - can't remember.
Very happy with it. 4 inputs, 2 outputs. Sounds better than all the resistor passives I've tried and a few actives. Ran it against a Silk transformer TVC and the difference was negliable.

I paid £125 a year ago...

I just want to remote control it - stepper motors etc...

 

Actually I'm not in a desperate hurry as I have my other amp to be going on with, but I am looking forward to trying the Leak out .

If you're planning to move yours on in the not too distant and we can agree something in principle, then I think I could probably bring myself to wait a wee bit!

I'm just outside Yeovil, Somerset, not too much of a drive from parts of Devon.

 

I'm about an hour the other side of Exeter from you on the S.Devon coast, so in country terms just around the corner. Not too far even if you just want to try it and see what you think.

Now about that thousandth post...

 

Your looking for a preamp..not an easy to build passive volume control ?, being that's what i did and was all i ever used with the st20 and/or quads etc, the least to mess with the original sound the better imho.

 

Blimey, 1000 posts, I really ought to get out more!

Cheers for the offer, I'll get in touch after I get the Leak back from being serviced (might be a while anyway, busy chap), and see what we can sort out.

 

Hi all

First of all, let me introduce myself as a noob and this is my first post.

Been reading this thread with great interest as i also have an st20 that i am looking to partner up with a passive preamp.

Does anybody have any experience of the nva preamps.
I am thinking about their p50 passive pre plus a clearaudio nano phono stage to partner up with my LP12/ittok/dl103.

Would appreciate your thoughts/comments

Cheers

 

I don't recall which NVA passive it was that I have heard (how many are there?). The Prometheus TVC beat it on definition, pace, dynamics as did the Silk audio trannied one. Could be a matching thing but I think TVC's are a step up from other stepped passives.