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In Reply to: Re: No. posted by Ozzy on April 16, 2007 at 14:53:28:
Are there general guidelines about amp compatibility with Promitheus? I have tried HK Citation II, RWA Signature and Pilot 232. I agree with people's comments that for the money it is quite amazing - it has good detail and transparency. However, it lacks the dynamics, sound stage, harmonics, tonal character and overall musical involvement I get when I pair the amps with the Supratek Chardonnay (which doesn't sacrifice the detail I get with Promitheus). Of course, the latter amp is 5x more expensive.I'm wondering what people have found to be compatible amps. I haven't had the Promitheus connected to any of the amps very long - perhaps there are significant differences as it burns in.
Bob
Follow Ups:
I’m assuming the promithius tvc is like other passives. In general require the:
1 Source to have a high output to drive the amp w/o additional pre-amplification
2 Amplifier to have low input sensitivity
3 Speakers should be easy to drive
4 Interconnect cables of low capacitance and lengths as short as possible
5 Output impedance of the source component to the amplifier, in general rule should be (atleast) a 10:1 ratio. (for example, if the CD Player's output impedance is 500ohms, then the input impedance of your amp should be at least 5k ohms). A greater ratio (100:1) between the source Zout and amp Zin supposedly creates less signal loss and degradation.Passives are very difficult to dial in and do not mate well with all components or work in all systems. However, a well designed one (if properly configured) does very little (or less than most actives) to degrade the signal, but can’t help "fix" (any recordings or system deficiencies) or add anything either.
An active or buffered-passive preamps with input/output buffering circuits can create a more immediate, livelier, robust presentation by lowering the output impedance and provide a constant output impedance for the power amp to work against. Furthermore, tube stages can create a sense of body, life and realism that I’ve yet to hear replicated in a solid (active or passive) design. However, finding an active that is capable of offering the benefits of an active tube design with the least amount of loss in transparency over a passive is very difficult and most likely much more expensive.
Believe what your ears say - not hearsay.
The one obvious reason for what you hear with a TVC revolves around the fact it is totally dependent on the source to provide all the qualites listed above.If you're source lacks these qualities, the TVC can't make up for that. I find active preamps are capable of adding weight, dynamics ,harmonics etc. Where a source may not lack these qualities with that active unit.It will become painfully obvious with a TVC.
This isn't the TVCs job. The job of a TVC is to pass on faithfully what it receives from the source, not to make up for any deficiencies.
Yes a TVC requires many hours of burn in. It also requires a source that can handle the load from the amplifiers it is paired with. If it can't ..you will get poor results..that's the bottom line.
It is basically a point of view,I'm a source audiophile. I believe the source is the master of the system. Some think preamps lead the way. This is where all the different opinions start to show themselves about what a preamp is suppose to do. And how one decides whether one unit is inferior to another. A source audiophile will just change sources if he finds something lacking, a preamp audiophile... the preamp. Crazy as it sounds..it is very true.
I believe an active can do two things a passive can’t. My understanding is1. An active and buffered-passive preamps with input/output buffering circuits can create a more immediate, livelier, robust presentation by lowering the output impedance and providing a constant output impedance for the power amp to work against.
· Have you tried using a buffer with a passive or a buffered-passive?2. Active tube stages can create a sense of body, life and realism that I’ve yet to hear replicated in a solid (active or passive) design.
· Have you experimented with a tube source + passive vs a solid source + active tube stage?
Believe what your ears say - not hearsay.
Yes I've tried the SS buffer route using it before and after the TVC. It didn't make a difference either way I tried it in my system.I've tried active tubes as the preamp. There's a certain thing tubes do that you can't get from the others.. this is true. At the same time I loss some of the transparency I've grown to love. I suppose it is a give and take.
That's probably why it is best to own one of each passive/tube and SS active. This way depending on the mood you get the sound you're looking for that day.
I've heard of audiophiles running an active tube preamp with their TVC.I think Nick likes this sound as he also makes an active tube stage for his TVC. Maybe one of these days I'll get a chance to try the Promitheus active tubed stage with my TVC.
I’m with you on the transparency thing. Although not practical and DANGEROUS, running my cdp direct “commando style” with no volume control device in the loop tells me exactly how transparent my system can be. So, adding something that degrades or paying more for something that retains more of what I already have seems so counterproductive.Good golly that Promitheus thread over at audiocircle is long. I wasn’t aware of the active tubed stage product…looks interesting.
Yes that thread has developed a life of its own that's for sure!lol
FYI..I started that thread to see if anyone else had experienced the Promitheus..I had no idea it would have over 40 thousand views and 1500 posts.
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