Who is using passive preamps and why?

“03-16-10: Phd TVAD, you have the ultimate preamp! The VRE-1 is very spendy but beautiful and one day I will own one even if I have to wait.”
Phd if you would like a preamp that is as Mr. McCormack puts it “right up there with the best” might I suggest you try the McCormack TLC-1 with the Ultra upgrades from SMc. I had this upgrade done on my TLC-1 Deluxe and the difference was night and day. With the stock TLC lack of dynamics was not a concern (as far as going from quite to load passages), I had that in spades with the pair of DNA-1 mono-blocks, what did concern me was the lack of drive in the base region, it seemed like the slam was lacking when compared to the active output of my Micro Line Drive with Gold upgrades. At one point I had considered getting an ALD-1 for a comparison to see which I would prefer. The TLC Ultra completely eliminated any of these concerns. I guess this could be accounted for by the fact that to use the step attenuator that Steve builds, he has to convert the passive output to a buffered output. I had tried both the passive and buffered on the stock TLC and it wasn’t quite the same. The TLC Ultra is leagues’ ahead of the stock TLC, so much so that you start to question what else in your system could be hindering the sound.
Anyway just a suggestion and food for thought if your interested.

Phd, Not to make this sound bad but once you hear the Ultra the stock really sounds veiled in comparison. The transparency in the soundstage just opens up to reveal layers upon layers of information. Just to tempt your taste buds if you happen to live anywhere around the Lake Ontario/Toronto area we could arrange a listening session and compare notes.

Phd, Unfortunately that would be a least a three day drive for me, but I do have a buddy that lives in the Seattle area. Next time I'm out that direction I'll have to give you a shout.

Right now I have a McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe Gold with the Jensen's transformer inputs. At one point I had a pair of DNA-1 mono-blocks then switched to a pair of DNA-1 Deluxe Golds that I used to vertically bi-amp a pair of Vandersteen 3A Sig/2Wq combo. But the pair Gold's and a 2Wq and I were "lost" during my move here to Canada. My plan was to mono-block the Golds and do the Platinum upgrades. So right now I'm in the process of rebuilding. I heard this combo (VRE-1 and custom 0.5 mono's) at Steve's work shop a few years back and was blown away by what I heard. As a matter fact the pair of amps I heard Steve had for sale here on Agon. If I had had the cash back then I would have bought them. By the way the volume control in the Ultra is a Shallco stepped attenuator built to Steve's spec's and assembled with Audio Note resistors by Kris. Kris told me to be able to use this attenuator they had to bypass the passive output on the TLC and just use the buffered output. I wished I could have made a direct comparison between the before and after but the packers came a week after I got it back from SMc Audio. I hooked it up to make sure everything worked and could hear the difference just as soon as I fired it up. Took a while to get everything unpacked here in Canada, but this is a total different setup from what I had and I'm still rebuilding. I will tell you this is not the same TLC-1 that left my system. Wow sorry I got so long winded but I really enjoy the TLC now. By the way if you are ever in the area please drop me a line and we'll set up a session. You can enjoy some of the wine from some of the 32 wineries we have around here. Its not the Niagara region either.

I remember Mr McCormack saying his amps were designed with a high input impedance so they would work well with passive and tube preamps. After talking with him several time about preamps I got the feeling he prefers the sound of passives, though he will tell you there is a difference in the way the two present the sound. Its just a matter of how you like your sound (do you prefer your coffee with creme or without). I was at that point at one time, I liked the slam or greater impact in the bass region that his active offered but I also liked the openness that the passive had. The Ultra upgrade to my TLC gave me both, at first I thought it was the buffered output but then I remembered trying that before the mod and it wasn't the same.

Phd, I have no intention on selling any of my gear I've worked to hard and sacrificed to much to get where I am with it today. Plus I like the flexibility I have with the McCormack gear in my two channel/Home theater setup.

I would like to apologize to everyone one for the bad grammar in my earlier post, I thought I read through it better. I promise no more drinking and posting. The good thing is I don't have to worry about he telephone polls jumping out in front of my words. LOL

Great conversation everyone and Happy Listening.