I'm with TWL on this one- and about to trial the Bentaudio.com transformer-coupled preamp. I have had passives in my rig previously, and agreed on the 'thin' sound, however clarity/detail was very good (sorry Keith, have to disagree with you on that one). However Keith, what I do agree with you on is the lack of dynamic impact across the entire frequency spectrum with passive, and I am hoping the transformer-coupled passive addresses this- should be interesting.
Oh- and Tim- YES to the VD Nite PC's (I use a couple of them- excellent product), but no to the Nite IC's- smooth over too much detail in mine and other reference systems we have tried them in...
Re: the Capitole (I owned MK I for a year and a half, and have heard MK II extensively in my system and others), I agree w TIm- direct seems to be preferable, however the Cap is ultimately not revealing enough for my tastes, and I ended up changing to my current rig which is eminently preferable (albeit more $$)- Spectral SDR 3000SL transport (incredible) and the superb new Audio Note Dac 3.1 Balanced (transformer-coupled) w Kharma Grand Ref digital IC. I am looking forward to testing the merits of the preamp idea once again (am running direct currently, as the tube monoblocks have volume control). I will try to post results on the transformer-coupled pre, as it may be an excellent avenue for some of us...
Oh- and Tim- YES to the VD Nite PC's (I use a couple of them- excellent product), but no to the Nite IC's- smooth over too much detail in mine and other reference systems we have tried them in...
Re: the Capitole (I owned MK I for a year and a half, and have heard MK II extensively in my system and others), I agree w TIm- direct seems to be preferable, however the Cap is ultimately not revealing enough for my tastes, and I ended up changing to my current rig which is eminently preferable (albeit more $$)- Spectral SDR 3000SL transport (incredible) and the superb new Audio Note Dac 3.1 Balanced (transformer-coupled) w Kharma Grand Ref digital IC. I am looking forward to testing the merits of the preamp idea once again (am running direct currently, as the tube monoblocks have volume control). I will try to post results on the transformer-coupled pre, as it may be an excellent avenue for some of us...