Lightspeed Attenuator - Best Preamp Ever?

Great thread, i'm on it. 
Well, i want to read an opinions from the users of both products like First Watt B1 buffer preamp (original, not a clone) and Lightspeed Attenuator with analog source only (not digital). 

After years of using several tube pussh-pull integrated amps with vintage NOS tubes i put First Watt B1 buffer preamp with First Watt F2J (current source power amp) in my system last night. Now i have to learn more about deviced i have never heard before. 

The input inpedance of my First Watt F2J current source power amp is 50k Ohms, gain 15.6db.      

My speakers are Zu Audio Druid mk5 (101db) 

My source is MC and MM cartridges with different phono stages, headamps, suts. 

After my firs listening session with First Watt B1 and FW F2J   
i've noticed that i use 10% of the volume control on buffer preamp. I could live with only 20% of volume forever as it's already pretty lound for an evening sessions. 

In the beggining of this thread @clipsal mentioned that First Watt B1 killed his Lightspeed Attenuator in terms of dynamics. 

I hope someone else compared those two products, i hope to hear from you guys. 

@clio09 

I have various phono stages, but Austrian (out of production) WLM Phonata Reference and new Australian JLTi is what i use the most. Funny, but the cabinet of my JLTi prono stage looks exactly like the cabinet of the Lightspeed device.     

@georgehifi not sure how anyone can judge by the picture (and it’s a bit off topic), but the picture of WLM you have posted is unfinished unit.

1) This is the actual picture of my WLM Phonata made when i opened it to upgraded load resistors to Vishay Naked Foil 100k Ohm for MM input (i prefer 100k over 47k for nearly all MM cartridges):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DaEOa5DXUAA892A.jpg

Technical Data:
MC-Input Impedance Range: < 100 Ohm to 50kOhm
MM-Input Capacity: 100pF
THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) @ 1kHz: 0.01%
SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) MC: >72dB
SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) MM: >85dB
Max. Input Voltage for MC-cartridges (theoretical value): 1200mV @ <1% THD
High Performance, Professional Type Step-Up Transformers

The PHONATA offers utterly precise RIAA equalization:
• RIAA equalization is implemented across two amplification stages (within current amplification), providing a frequency expansion from 10Hz to 50kHz (Subsonic cut below 10Hz). Selected components (1% tolerance) are used.
• RIAA equalization can be selected from two positions with a switch at the back of the unit (position “high” for records produced before 1965 or to improve the performance of somewhat “darker” sounding cartridges at higher frequencies. This position provides +3dB equalization as from 5kHz and +6dB as from 10kHz.) • Position “low” for all other records.

The unique feature of PHONATA is automatic adjustment of Load-Impedance for MC cartridges, but i use this phono stage mainly for MM cartridges nowadays, sadly a few units were made before the company closed the business, WLM speakers were quite nice, their tube apms were made by Trafomatic Audio (and i have one of them - WLM Minueta).

2) Phonata has much better bass response than Joe’s JLTi phono stage, the difference is huge (but the price difference is also very big). I like JLTi phono stage too, RCA plug load resistors on the back is such a great feature! If you want to look at the JLTi you will see it’s even simplier and smaller. This is the actual picture of my JLTi (inside).

For LOMC cartridges i use ZYX CPP-1 Pre-Preamp favorited by Arthur Salvatore (his name has mentioned in this thread many times).

And Luxman AD8000 with 8030 silver SUT for LOMC with extremely low impedance.

None of the mentioned phono stages can handle LOMC as good as the LUX silver SUT or ZYX CPP-1 headamp. So for MC i use those phono stages as MM mainly to connect my SUT or Headamp.

P.S. I hope i will find the right phono stage or sut to handle my 0,05mV Ortofon MC2000 cartridge, maybe now when i have so much power with First Watt B1 + First Watt F2J i have to try it again with my existing phono stages. We will see.    

@dgarretson 

I expected to hear sonic trade-offs, with the passive winning on treble resolution & overall sonic purity, and the active winning on dynamics and LF control. In actuality the hybrid buffered approach won on every point. As a result I opine that if the impedance match is anything less than perfect(and who really knows for certain what is perfect?), a passive would benefit by being equipped with an active buffer on an A/B switch. There are several simple & inexpensive buffer designs(including one contributed to the Lightspeed DIY thread by Nelson Pass) that will do justice to a top-quality passive. In this scenario the comparison of LSA to other preamps becomes more of a contest between volume controls-- which is a critical and oft-neglected determinant of a preamp's performance.

Hello, have you compared LSA to FW B1 ? 

Here is a picture of my opened B1, and this is another view on this beauty. Sadly, even 2 inputs is not enough for me as i normally use two turntables with 4 tonearms (different cartridges and phono stages). On my tube amp i got remote control, sadly there is no remote on B1, but dual volume control is a nice option to adjust the balance if needed.

Always a trade offs :( 

Yes, the input impedance of by First Watt F2J power amp is 50k Ohms. 

What i don't like is even more limitation with Lightspeed to have just ONE input. BUT has anyone with the same problem ever tried Luxman Line Input Selector AS-4III which is easy to upgrade ?