Bent Audio Autoformer vs Tube Pre

Charles, that is exactly what I shared in my previous posts. Agreed.

What amplifier and source(s) do you plan to use with the Bent? I have tried many passive preamps and currently still use them in my system. One is balanced and the others single ended. From my experience I will say that with the right set up a passive preamp will help you achieve outstanding sound for little investment. Typically an autoformer or transformer volume control will be easier to match up with system components, but that shouldn't rule out potentiometers or resistor passive designs. In fact, a real sleeper is Roger Modjeski's pot in the box that uses a simple but high quality Noble potentiometer to attenuate the signal. LDR attenuators are also very good if built properly.

I'm using ATSAH (Hypex NC1200) amps and Lynx Hilo.

Pot in box doesn't work....needs to be remote volume controlled.

The four key specs you need to really evaluate how a passive preamp can be used in your system are the output voltage and output impedance of the source and the input sensitivity and input impedance of the amp. Neither Lynx or ATSAH provide these specs although I will go on the assumption that the Lynx outputs at least 2V and has a low enough output impedance since it is a solid state design. I do see the amp has 26 db of gain which might indicate an input sensitivity high enough (ideally below 1.5V) but the input impedance would be the more critical factor and should be greater than 50k ohms, the higher the better.

If the specs do not line up properly it is still possible to build something using the Bent modules and remote, but you might want to consider buffered outputs that would allow for better matching to the amp. Perhaps you can check with the manufacture to see if they can give you the specs.

Jason, how has your sound changed? I know before you stated you felt like you needed a Dude (active tubed pre) in the mix due to the sonic characteristics of the Ncores. Lynx more euphonic than the Halo I presume?

The passive game is interesting. I preferred my Dude to the LSA as well, but if you are bent on building your system around a passives parameters, I guess it could work. If money is an issue, finding a DAC with pre-amp functionality seems like another pragmatic option.