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Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE Preamp

Who has purchased one of these preamps (either the SE version or the non-SE version).

What do you think of this preamp? Passive up to a certain point then active. I have got to assume that at my listening levels, I would probably fall into the passive almost all of the time. I read the review on 6Moons, but to be honest, (1) it really didn't say much of anything about the performance and (2) I am not so sure I have very much faith in the reviewer. The review seemed to cover more about the build approach to this piece and offered no real comparisons with regard to sound performance.

Any comments on how this unit performs (passive and active) in terms of:
Sound temperature (warmish, coolish, completely neutral)
Body, texture, emotion experiences
Sound staging - airy, focused, defined, wide, deep, forward, congestion with certain types of music or volume levels, etc. . .
Accuracy at the different frequencies, macros and micros

Any comments in general? Recommendations and comparisons would be great.

Reference:
Amp = Krell FPB 300C
Sources = Northstar CD transport or Logitech/slim device duet going to DCS Purcell and Delius
Speakers = Wilson W/P 5.1

Also considering: Ayre (V5e), Pass (X1 or XP10), ARC (15 or 16 or 26), Calypso (previously owned & loved), JRDG Capri (previously owned, very good).

Thanks very much in advance for your opinions.
ckoffend
11 responses Add your response
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I'm also looking for some time at wyred equipment, but the fact of having 'Passive upto a certain point then active' did not atract my eye. I prefer either active or passive i.e. having a gain switch. It might be a perfect match for their amplifiers with high input impedance but might not match to other equipment. Unfortunately the restocking fee is 15% so you'd better check your amp's input impedance before considering Wyred.
poul
3 posts
 
Marakanetz,your concern about passive to active circuit is excactly what I asked the 6Moons reviewer about. Here is his response:
"A few people are confused about the concept of no gain but active circuitry behind it. It's very different from the Music First concept. The W4S doesn't care at what volume setting you use it. It does its magic anywhere. The Esoteric C-03 is the same. These pieces perform impedance stabilization and run off high supply voltage rails to guarantee current, color and drive so they're most defnitely not passive even though they have no gain. The Nelson Pass First Watt F4 has no gain either and is a power amp that drives speakers with an iron first. So you need to first understand the concept to stop assuming that there is any similarity to your preamp in terms of being passive -.)"
I know our understanding is shaped by the description in the adds, so you might find his closer a little sharp in tone, while his understanding is likely correct. I myself would want to see second opinions with other equipment and or tastes.
ckoffend OP
684 posts
 
Poul, thanks for that info. That is the gist I got from my bit of research on the preamp. Have you been researching the preamp or just inquired out of curiosity?

Anybody own one yet who cares to offer comments and comparisons?
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I'm not realy confused about having no gain at all. I'm just trying to learn the concept of having a variable gain. Intrigued another words. If 'it is what it is', the preamp might stand for its price as a complex logic device no doubt. I realy wish it had some phono boards.
narrod
1,064 posts
 
"So you need to first understand the concept to..."

I would offer that it is up to the manufacturer and, by extension, the reviewer to explain the concept in a clear and understandable way.
poul
3 posts
 
Ckoffend, I am seriously looking at this, since I at times are at the very far end of my otherwise superb passive's volume setting. I agree with Narod's observation, and find the current Wyred adds more informative than the Underwood add that implies (to me) that a shift from passive resistance to active gain occurs at a certain volume setting.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
To my understanding of such 'concept' looks like logical gain settings depending on input/output sources parameters. Can't call it completely passive though because it's buffered and form zero to a positive gain the unit switches logically.
If this is what I understand, than the unit worth trying.
Don't know if UnderwoodHIFI would charge 15% restocking fee, but dealing with dealer or directly somehow this can be negotiated.
theaudiotweak
2,797 posts
 
There is a thread already started 7-30..I bought the SE the first week of July from description and photo only. Tom
ckoffend OP
684 posts
 
Theaudiotweak, did you submit your opinion of this preamp yet? I looked for such a thread, but did not find one, or at least anything that really offered any comments on performance. I will look again, but would appreciate if you could either e-mail me your comments (if you don't want to publish them) or offer your comments here.
ttungus's avatar
ttungus
6 posts
 
Bought one STP-SE after dickering around with vrious passive pres like Luminous, Promitheus,Scott Endlers, EVS and actives like Sonic Frontiers SFL2 and Audio Research SP9, and finally settled without a preamp for a year with my tubed CD player going direct into my mono blocks with such a revelation that how much coloration imparted from the passive components within these preamp active or otherwise. STP SE is the real deal as long as you are in the passive mode. The strengths of STP-SE far outweight the drawbacks when comparing it to without a preamp.
robshaw
244 posts
 

Haven't seen any real close ups of the rear of the wyred 4 sound stp-se unit. Is there any hook ups for a sub, sub out, pre outs etc? Thanks

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