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68.18.67.22
In Reply to: RE: Passive preamps posted by Tintin on May 11, 2008 at 04:20:17
This from Cory Greenberg Stereophile November, 1991
"Active or Passive
In a conventional system based on an active preamplifier, the signal source (phono stage, CD player, tape deck) is treated as a voltage source only; the high input impedance of the preamp enables the source component to drive its interconnect easily. In effect, the active preamp buffers the source component from the job of driving the interconnect feeding the power amplifier, tackling that job itself with its beefier output stage.
But a passive preamp has no such circuit; while the source component "sees" a moderately high input impedance (in most cases, 10k ohms), all the onus of driving the cables downstream of the control unit is placed back on the shoulders of the source, and most gear just isn't up to the task. Because when you use a passive preamp, the signal source has to work not only as a voltage source, but as a current source as well, and most phono stages and CD players (especially op-amp-based circuits) aren't designed to source much current. As a result, many listeners have complained about reduced bass impact and a lack of dynamic bloom to their systems' sounds with passive preamps."
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