Passive preamp

How to use? Source -> passive preamp -> power amp?
Can we just replace active preamp with a passive one? Is it better?

Any recommendation for a good one?

Yes, simple as that, source, passive pre, power amps, speakers ...

better is relative. one important factor is your speakers. if hard to drive, you may end up with insufficient gain to drive them. Promitheus Audio TVC is highly rated, as is the one from Euphonic Audio ... both local ...

Agreed. Better is relative. I have tried passive pre. It's simply not my cup of tea, active pre sounds better to me.

How does the sound differ from each other? I guess my question should be why do we even want to use passive preamp? Not to save on power consumption I hope

Passive preamp only suitable for high db speakers?

arremie wrote:
How does the sound differ from each other? I guess my question should be why do we even want to use passive preamp? Not to save on power consumption I hope

the argument goes that the fewer the components in the signal chain, the better the sound quality will be. that's why some people opt for passive cos any active gain stage will add colouration to the sound.

as to whether passive pre sounds better than active pre is debatable. in my experience, passive pre sounds thin and undynamic.

agree with all of the above. arremie can experiment this...

marantz cdp (or any cdp with volume control) staright into power amp and see if you like it or not.

i've also tried usb soundcards or ipod docks straight into power amp and... same experience with sflam.

arremie,
I am with sflam. It's 'thin and undynamic'. My collection and type of music, my taste actually dictates the type of preamp that I use.
The last passive pre that I tried was the LDR attenuator. 'Dry' was my verdict, however IF partnered with a buffer(tube or solid state) I heard the sound will improve. I have yet to try this out.. Currently I am satisfied with SS and tube preamp.

arremie, don't let us stop you from trying* it out. hifi is subjective and no absolute. i'm sure there is a good reason why these things exists to serve that niche.

who knows... it may well suit your system or music selection. cuba try.

*on loan

Yup. Give it a shot as per drife suggestion. You might just like it!

Arremie,
what amp r u using? Poweramp or intergrated amp?

If u r using pre n poweramp, u want to substitude with passive pre than forget it. It may not have the drive n gain for your power amp.

If u r using an intergrated amp, then u may try to bypass the internal volume pot n use a tvc outboard. Do try s&b tvc, they r a class above but a bit hard to find. Or else may also try silk tvc from Thailand , they r not bad.

Cheers,

Currently I'm using ss integrated amp and tube integrated amp. I like em both so no problem there.

I also have a ss power amp which at the time got no partner. So I'm looking to get a preamp and wondering if passive preamp will do.

drife if u got any passive preamp for loan let me know ya. Who knows I might take it off your hand haha. I already have a tube buffer and tube preamp on the way

arremie, usb powered preamp can? it comes with a high tech high resolution pixel-sliding volume control called itunes. hahahahah

seriously if i've got a passive preamp on my hands i'd loan it to you anytime. I'm guessing source-> passive preamp-> buffer-> power amp?

if you can work on that "gain" it might turn out good. might wanna google on replacement buffer tubes that carry a slightly higher gain....

I do have a passive preamp, it's for sale; it has AC power supply but if you read this, you'll understand why:


http://sites.thestar.com.my/audio/story.asp?file=/2005/6/9/audiofile/09euphonic

i think passive pre amp has better chances with tube power amp

Bro raptor, how can we call it passive when it has a power supply? haha

Anyway u got PM

azri wrote:i think passive pre amp has better chances with tube power amp

No, one cannot generalize like that. There's many factors and reasons to decide if any passive pre will be well matched to a tube amp. Tube amp (especially power amplifiers) sensitivity varies amongst makes, and should it be one make that was highly suggested to be matched with another active pre, replacing it with a passive pre may not be up to satisfaction and may result with some loss of dynamics. Input impedance match of passive pre to tube power amp have different results too.

I just talk to Adrian from Audio Image and he recommend me to try out the passive preamp being my speaker high db and easy to drive.

cmboy, my Rotel power amp has an input impedance of 27k Ohms. If I opt for custom made passive preamp should I go for low or high impedance for the volume attenuator.

arremie wrote:Bro raptor, how can we call it passive when it has a power supply? haha

Anyway u got PM

replied, yes, can ... confusing, that's why I said read the review. there is one buffered input for extra gain. the rest is unity gain ... there also a LED display for the attenuator ...

Read the review but still don't get it haha. Anyway doesn't really matter got power or not as long as the matching works

cmboy, thanks for the tips on impedance stuff

so its both a passive and active preamp? good lah, i'm all for these kind of equipments that's got options.

meaning its not a "dead box" like a cdp w/out digital out or an amp w/out pre-power jacks.

more options for mix and match. beli, jgn xbeli. pocket xkoyak, cume kene korek dlm skit....