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In Reply to: Can ACTIVE be better than PASSIVE?? posted by Feanor on April 9, 2007 at 10:35:18:
I have heard only one passive that lived up to the billing of "passive" and could go toe to toe with the best active pres I have heard. It is made by a German company called Purist and surprisingly it is a resistor based control not TVC. I was skeptical, having tried several passives that didn't live up to claims but this was really invisible and had no apparent loss of dynamics.That being said there are many preamps that can be had which are significantly better sounding than the SF line 1.
Follow Ups:
... to have such a conclusion, what system you used, what source etc.properly set TVCs are sonically superior products to any active preamp within a similar price range.
"properly set TVCs are sonically superior products to any active preamp within a similar price range"What tests have you conducted to conclude this? Which actives did you compare them to?
I have used the Sonic Euphoria TVC and numerous resistor based ones. I have some colleagues that have experience with the S&B based TVCs and they reach the same conclusions with similar active devices. Only the Purist resistor based one I have tried so far gives satisfactory results but it is also not cheap.
I'm a fan of yours and your opinions are always well appreciated by me.My choice of the SF Line 1 was very much influenced by a low budget and the desire for balanced outputs in a tube preamp. If you have suggestions that that meet those criteria, I'd love to hear them.
Bill Bailey
___________________________________________
See my stereo config
What is your budget?
Alas, I won't have a lot to spend any time soon. Assuming I could sell the SF for what I paid exclusive of shipping, (US$900), I can't manage more the $1000 plus shpping, etc., (or a little more from a Canadian seller if I can find one).
Bill Bailey
___________________________________________
See my stereo config
For around $600 (for the kit) the Transcendent sound Grounded Grid preamp is very good (even better with a couple of simple mods). This includes the very nice 24 position stepped attenuator (pain to solder all those resistors but worth it). It creamed my Audible Illusions M3A for example.
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