Budget preamp with quality volume control
Dear Audiogoners,
I used to be a firm believer that the signal path should be as short as possible and, as such, I have been using the two-channel system without a dedicated preamp. For a long period of time, I have relied on the digital attenuator in DAC for volume control, knowing the digital attenuator would compress the dynamic range of the sound. Therefore, I switch the volume control on DAC to the fixed mode, bypass the digital attenuation and use the unity gain knob in the back of the power amp for volume control. Depending on the music recording level, however, sometimes I need to turn the unity gain control way down to get proper sound level. This is particularly painful when I use the full-balance connection because of the double voltage gain.
In short, I am looking for a budgetary preamp with quality volume control that either has relay switch stepped control or precise potentiometer for left-right channel match to curb the issue. I try to summarize important (to me) performance catgories as best I can for various good sounding preamp I know (with or without headphone amp/dac) as shown below. It is found the Schiit Magnius happens to have the highest performance ratio. However, I am pretty sure that I likely miss other good performers due to my limited knowledge and would like to solicit for your inputs. Your kind assistance is appreciated.
I did see the icOn 4PRO in action at an Audio Show - very impressive - and a very easy to use remote because it’s taking advantage of the Apple r/c. I think that would be my choice if I were to go for anything. Helped further by your endorsement and experience with other passive preamps. The other popular choice is the Music First - but the icOn has great convenience features in comparison. |
Linear tube audio MZ2. Don’t think you can beat the quality for the price: https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/mz2mz2-s
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Linear tube audio MZ2. https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/mz2mz2-s |
If u have gain issues do not touch the topping pre90. It ONLY worked for me with amps that had gain adjustments, such as the Benchmark AHB2 and the Parasound A21+. It was terrible with about another 5 amps I used it with. The Sxhitt Freya+ has a lot of features and sounds OK,, but does colour the sound. The Schitt Sys maybe something that woks for you. It only supports RCA. You can always bite the bullet and get what I think is an amazing preamp and any price, the Benchmark LA4. |
Music First Audio was an early adopter of the transformer volume control, or TVC. I believe they use S&B transformers. Transformers use two coils around a core and offer isolation while autotransformers, or autoformers, use only one coil and do not isolate but do apparently have a few advantages when used as volume controls.
I do like the Apple remote functionality with the icOn 4PRO. I also like the large display that is so easy to see across the room. Functionally, it offers everything I want in a preamp, including an HT pass-through. I have not tried Music First or any of the other transformer VCs, so cannot make a comparison between autoformers and transformers in my system. |
