Amp/Preamp Asylum

RE: Passive preamps

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The basic need for an active preamp has diminished since CD came along. Prior to this pre-amps were always a combination of source selector, phono pre-amplifier (necessarily active) and volume control. One might say that active pre-amps are more of an historic hang over rather than a necessity. At first sight the removal of a need for the active phono stage would mean that a passive pre-amp would be optimal. However the pre amp also provides a better chance of giving a correct match between its output impedence (preferably low) and the input impedence of the power amp (preferably high) so as to provide the best power transfer characteristic. This becomes a bigger problem with many passives as the length of the cable interconnect between the two components increases. So, for people who require lengthy interconnects the typically highish output impedence of a passive pre-amp rules it out.

However there is also a subjective side to this which may be why, even now, active pre-amps are still favoured. A good passive pre will offer clarity and low coloration but will often fail in providing the most satisfactory dynamics particularly with designs centred around the use of a high impedence volume pot. This is why there has recently been a second type of passive offered, based around the use of multiple taps of a transformer instead of a potentiometer and which it is said minimises this loss.

My own experience with passives is that the novelty wears off in due course and that one then puts up with the intrusion of an active pre-amp as it provides a scale of experience that larger musical works require.

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