TVC Promethius versus Bent

Pubul57, I noticed that you have the K & K for sale now. Can you tell why you're selling and what you've kept? I have a Music Reference RM-9 and have been considering a TVC to run between my Shanling CDP so I can eliminate the digital volume control of the Shanling. I'm leaning toward the Promitheus Dual Box system. Thanks.

I'm going to be using the Joule 150 MKII which works especially well with my Merlins (and I like the way it looks) and Roger's Pot-in-a-Box for back up should a tube blow. I'm selling because I feel stupid with too much equipment on my hands. I was considering selling the Joule instead of the K&K, but I know how I am with equipment and I expect I may make a move down the road to a non-passive friendly system and regret having gotten rid of a great tube active.

Pubul57

Thanks for responding to my query so quickly; I don't know what a K & K TVC is so a little more info please. Also I want to try a really good tube preamp in place of the EVS attenuators. ( I have to admit I really like their tranparency) Have you really enjoyed the Joule or do you plan to replace it with something else? An acquaintance of mine at the Cable Company suggested that I try a First Sound preamp and/or a Suprateck Chardonay preamp. AS an aside I have been listening to a pair of the Nuforce 9.v'2s SE's fed direct with a monarchy DAC 24 into the EVS attenuators and the sound is absolutlely WONDERFUL!

I came to the Joule after having a CAT SL1 Ultimate MKII, a LAMM LL2, and a Placette Active. All are fantastic, but I felt the Joule added just a touch more "body" that works especially well with my CAT amp and Merlin speakers. What I find is that most of this stuff does sound fantastic in its own right, until you compare it to something else. I have had several amps in the past 1-2 years and they were all great, terribly enjoyable and then I would use the CAT and realize it was superior, without the CAT I could easily have lived with many of them, Quicksilver V4 and Pass XA30.5 most recently. Transparency is addictive, and so is organic presence (hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it)finding something that can share in both qualities, in good measure is the trick, and part of what makes the hobby side of this fun.

I have the Bent Audio TVC and find that the transparency that this offers is remarkable. It is feeding an Atmasphere S30 Mkiii OTL which works fine as a combination for me as my speakers are very effiecient (Duo's 108 dB/w). I have tried various active pre's including the Atmaspere MP1 and in my view the TVC wins hands-down.

I can recommend the Bent Audio without hesitation (if you can find one now) - they are really well made.

I have to confess that I've not tried the Promitheus but I reckon it would offer very similar performance. Good luck.