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| Model: | The Truth |
| Category: | Preamplifier (SS) |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $ 825.00 |
| Description: | Active Pre-amp without Gain |
| Manufacturer URL: | Horn Shoppe |
| Model Picture: | View |
| Review by carlsor on March 09, 2011 at 12:21:11 IP Address: 76.106.200.230 | Add Your Review for the The Truth |
I have over 300 hours of music play time on my Truth preamp now. The music is bigger and more impactful than any other preamp I have ever owned. Great balance from top to bottom frequencies with excellent detail resolution and instrument separation. Vocals are amazing. There is absolutely no solid state grit. Music in and music out at the volume you select with nothing added or subtracted. My wife, who almost never notices any of the changes I make to my Hi-Fi systems – except for the bad ones, was amazed in the improvement in the musical realness and purity. If you don’t need a preamp with gain - this is the no-brainer choice! Ed better learn how to make more than 2 or 3 a month.
| Product Weakness: | Narrow usable volume control range. |
| Product Strengths: | It's all about the music. |
| Amplifier: | DIY 12B4 parafeed SE tube amp 1w/ch |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Truth |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Oppp 980H + Rakk DAC Mk III |
| Speakers: | The Horn & Cube sub |
| Cables/Interconnects: | DIY CAT 5e & CAT 6 |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Classical & Jazz |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 15 x 11 x 10 |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | WAF prevents treatment |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | 300+ hours |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
you should here a Dodd Buffer on battery ps
N/T
... a Superphon unit by Stan Warren (in a plastic and wooden box, no metal chassis). Gain was available via toggle switch if you wanted it.
And a B&K preamp (with a phono stage). This too had gain you could switch in and out. My daughter has owned this preamp for about 25 years; she and my son-in-law see no reason to get anything else.
Not to mention that some McIntosh preamps have unity gain (i.e., no gain) until you crank up the volume beyond a certain point.
This is a very good idea! I haven't heard The Truth, but contratulations Ed.
(But what is it about the truth? Lower case. That no one wants to hear it?)
Not relating to the review, just off topic on preamps in general:
I cannot understand active "pre-amps" who's only active function is to attenuate the signal coming from a digital source or a phono preamp unless you have a real reason, like long interconnects and/or an insensitive amplifier. Most of the time, the preamp only has to drive the tiny load and capatance of a 3 foot interconnect while delivering the required 0.25 volts. The "pre amp" is required to effectively throw away 90% of the signal of a 2v digital source.
If the preamp is "improving the sound" by adding euphonics, isn't it really just a tone control?
Very astute observation on the tone control. The only thing I can think of that an active preamp should do and do well is control the interconnect. Meaning a well designed active preamp should neutralize the difference in sound between interconnects. The Truth does this. You could use Mogami or a high end cable and you won't hear a difference. At least I don't. Many active preamp designs fail this test. Another that passes it are the Atma-Sphere preamps.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get great sound and that's The Truth.
cost me $15 assembled from Radio Shack parts. That is if you don't count the $18 knobs I used that were left over from an Audio Research preamp faceplate swap. For anyone interested, here's the recipe. I later built a better sounding unit using DACT attenuators, JPS Labs wire, Cardas connectors and put them in a nice Par-Metals aluminum box. That ran $300.
Many folks really don't need any additional gain.
rw
The input and output impedance, and the resulting issues those impedances create, always kept me away from a passive volume controlHere's information I've lifted from the Horn Shoppe site:
"It has an input impedance too high to measure, output impedance is a couple ohms, bandwidth is to 60Mhz, slew rate is a couple hundred V/microsecond.
There are no capacitors or resistors in the signal path. There is no potentiometer in the signal path.
It uses photo cells to control the volume. It does not use optocouplers.
It is an "active" device and suffers none of the "problems" that "passive volume control/pre amps" have. It can drive long (30 feet) cables with ease."
Edits: 03/11/11
then an active like that or the First Watt B-1 would be desirable. Since my cables are short and of low capacitance, I don't.
rw
I am going to be using The Truth with a 20 ft. run of interconnects. I use a Lightspeed attenuator with a short run. Both preamps are phenomenal. Very difficult to tell them apart sonically.
system matching.
rw
First it was the Nelson Pass First Watt F1 replacing tube amps in my system. Then The Truth ending my thirty five years of using tube preamps.
I still cycle tube amps into the system, and love the things they do right. On the other hand, I've switched back to tube preamps occasionally, just to see if I was in a honeymoon phase with what The Truth does so well. Nope. The Truth lets me enjoy my music more.
And for me, that's what it's all about.
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