Passive Preamps: Jumping Ship

Good for you Derek. I know that you've made more than your fair share of purchases trying to get there : )

I tried a few different passives and always thought that the signal lacked warmth, body, dynamics, slam, etc... Sure, the midrange was "see through" but the rest of it just did not draw me in. It was if the music itself had become "passive" and no longer "actively" interested me. I guess that's why they say that audio systems truly are "personal preference" and "synergy" based... Sean
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Oh how I've wanted passive preamps to sound better than active preamps in my system, especially when I had a sweet tube preamp that unfortunately used up tubes. I've stuck with the actives for exactly the reasons you mention.

I have always wondered why some listeners like passive preamps. I never understood the significance of these since they offered no sonic benefits that I could detect. Glad other listeners are hearing the difference that a good active preamp offers

Hmmm, since there is no one here defending passive attenuators, I think I'll have to chime in with my $0.02. I came in the exact opposite direction from Justlisten- I started with expensive tube preamps (BAT, CAT, Thor), and while each had certain alluring qualities, none of these (nor any other active I've had the chance to demo, including Lamm and ML) match the transparency, neutrality, freedom from noise/grunge, and low level resolution that a high quality passive provides, so long as your system is geared for a passive. More often than not, in my experience, those people that I have known who had problems with passives were either suffering from impedance mismatches, poor output stages in their source components, insensitive amplifiers (almost no solid state amplifiers work with passives, guys), or overly capacitive cables - in that order of frequency. In particular, the first two problems are the ones most responsible for the loss of dynamics that some experience when trying a passive in their system. Unfortunately, I have found that most manufacturers of passive attenautors are not as up front as they should be in describing the limited applications for their products.

I'll join Rzado, just to get the numbers pro and con in a bit better balance. I agree with all he's said. But if anyone is considering buying a passive, there are a number of things to check out. A look at www.goldpt.com, and its DIY section in particular, is a place to start. I've gone with DIY passives myself, and don't think it's easy to beat a good one for any amount of money spent on a commercial product. Just get world-class switches (like Shallco) for ladder type stepped attenuators, dual mono to get the effect of a balance control that costs nothing in circuit complexity, and good resistors, connectors, internal wire, kept as short as you can manage. I left a CAT SL-1 III, with its signal path simplified at the factory, for my own DIY passive, and have never looked back. I get the "magic of tubes" in my power amps, and while I wouldn't do without it, I don't think one needs it further up the line.