Dev
Moderator
Has anyone compared the Basie to a NOH/MFAudio?
WAD Passive preamp
- Thread starter Dev
- Start date
3DSonics
away working hard on "it"
Hi,
Not only the Basie and T1 (the original) and a variety of others.
The bottom line is simple.
If your source has semi-decent drive capability and the load (Interconnect and Amp input) remains sane (10K in parallel with 1nF is the limit and the source must be happy to drive this and then a little) and you want a preamp that gets out of the way of the music almost entierly, there is nothing I have tried which I prefer.
But in many system a "neutral" preamp is literally poison, often the colrations and other things added by active preamp's are neede to balance off problems elsewhere. In such situations the apropriatley synergetic active preamp will appear superior, subjectively speaking.
Ciao T
Dev said:
Not only the Basie and T1 (the original) and a variety of others.
The bottom line is simple.
If your source has semi-decent drive capability and the load (Interconnect and Amp input) remains sane (10K in parallel with 1nF is the limit and the source must be happy to drive this and then a little) and you want a preamp that gets out of the way of the music almost entierly, there is nothing I have tried which I prefer.
But in many system a "neutral" preamp is literally poison, often the colrations and other things added by active preamp's are neede to balance off problems elsewhere. In such situations the apropriatley synergetic active preamp will appear superior, subjectively speaking.
Ciao T
Dev
Moderator
Thanks T, I'm going to try Bottleneck preamp and if I like it, I'll keep it. However, at a later date, I fear my curiosity will get the better of me and I'll probably try a passive preamp as well. I just feel like building something
.
.
Dev
Moderator
A quick update.
Tried Chris's preamp and absolutely loved it after it's warmed up properly, but won't be buying it I'm afraid. Too many reasons to mention here. Suffice to say all upgrade plans cancelled
.
I'd like to thank Chris for lending me his preamp and apologise for wasting his time.
Tried Chris's preamp and absolutely loved it after it's warmed up properly, but won't be buying it I'm afraid. Too many reasons to mention here. Suffice to say all upgrade plans cancelled
.I'd like to thank Chris for lending me his preamp and apologise for wasting his time.
bottleneck
talks a load of rubbish
Not a problem Dev.
Hey, you can experiment with valves another day.
Maybe one idea (when you are ready to look again) is to borrow just a car load of goods from a decent new or used dealer and just try all sorts of stuff at home.
I think my biggest yet was when I borrowed 5 power amps and 3 pre's.
Its amazing what you discover about what you like and what you dont.
A bit like a bake-off , but you can buy whatever you want.!
Hey, you can experiment with valves another day.
Maybe one idea (when you are ready to look again) is to borrow just a car load of goods from a decent new or used dealer and just try all sorts of stuff at home.
I think my biggest yet was when I borrowed 5 power amps and 3 pre's.
Its amazing what you discover about what you like and what you dont.
A bit like a bake-off , but you can buy whatever you want.!
julian2002
Muper Soderator
Lord
.
Dev,
Just to say on the passive preamp front, the WAD PAS II is now only sold as a case, selector switch, tape-switch, inputs and wire. In other words you have to buy your own choice of attenuator whether it be a stepped resistor attenuator (ladder or shunt) or a standard volume control. The WAD kit gives seven inputs including tape, and two outputs.
A passive needs to be carefully matched into a system or it can sound lifeless. The main things to look into are:
1. The input sensitivity of the power amplifier (low is good!).
2. Output voltage of the sources (high is good!).
3,4,5! The relative impedances of the source's output vs the attenuator vs power amplifier's input. These should get higher as you move through that chain, you can build or buy attenuators from 10kOhm to 100kOhm+ etc to make this easier.
To get it right requires quite a bit of effort and research. But it will leave you with a Pre that has the barest minimum of components between source and power amplifier, and no artificial drive that an unnecessary amplification stage might give.
Spend most of whatever budget you have on the attenuator and chop up some of your favourite i/c wire to use for the output and your favourite inputs.
Just to say on the passive preamp front, the WAD PAS II is now only sold as a case, selector switch, tape-switch, inputs and wire. In other words you have to buy your own choice of attenuator whether it be a stepped resistor attenuator (ladder or shunt) or a standard volume control. The WAD kit gives seven inputs including tape, and two outputs.
A passive needs to be carefully matched into a system or it can sound lifeless. The main things to look into are:
1. The input sensitivity of the power amplifier (low is good!).
2. Output voltage of the sources (high is good!).
3,4,5! The relative impedances of the source's output vs the attenuator vs power amplifier's input. These should get higher as you move through that chain, you can build or buy attenuators from 10kOhm to 100kOhm+ etc to make this easier.
To get it right requires quite a bit of effort and research. But it will leave you with a Pre that has the barest minimum of components between source and power amplifier, and no artificial drive that an unnecessary amplification stage might give.
Spend most of whatever budget you have on the attenuator and chop up some of your favourite i/c wire to use for the output and your favourite inputs.
bottleneck
talks a load of rubbish
julian2002 said:
lol
Didnt realize you could BUY donut holes.
I think my quote comes from homer simpson, but it made me laugh
Dev
Moderator
Thanks Lord. It seems unlikely, but if I do go that route, I'll remember to ask for advice again. It's seems quite a daunting task (to ensure good system matching).
It's a shame I liked Chris's preamp so much.
It's a shame I liked Chris's preamp so much.
