So a pal of mine has built up an amazing system. Bel Canto DAC, big Thiels, Pass mono blocks, high end cabling. One missing element has been a good pre. He had an Audible Illusions Modulus 3 but it needed an overhaul (a simple passive sounded better in a shoot out). Then he used an earlier DAC as his pre. Recently I went to hear his latest: a DIY pass preamp -- bride of zen. it had an exotic volume pot: described as R to R. something like this, i'm guessing: http://www.amb.org/audio/delta1/
anyways, the whole system sounded beyond amazing. he played Kid A, my favorite radiohead album and i heard tons of detail i'd never heard before and i've listened to that album hundreds of times.
so, that got me thinking about my gear and how i could take a step forward. which led me to thinking about volume pots. i've tried passive preamps. a nice DIY pre i bought on BT and a creek OBH-12. i also built a pass B1. after some research about TVCs and LDRs i decided to try a stereo coffee LDR. this is a simple LDR based pre with 3 inputs and 1 output. LDR is used for volume attenuation (there is no gain) and switching between the inputs. why stereo coffee? the price point is pretty attractive for something fully built, i found some glowing reviews on threads (mostly the absolute sound), and the seller seems available and supportive.
it arrived last thursday. here are some pics: http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/f8UCD4Mf/1/7187009 they show the box, unit, my rig and the B1 it replaced.
the sound? so far amazing. very detailed; dead quiet; uncomfortably revealing. i've tried 3 amps with it. it made a hum in my lance cochrane 6L6 amp unbearable, the elekit wasn't detailed enough. for the moment i'm using a TPA 3116 dual chip with an astron power supply. the attenuation and input switching work perfectly so far.
i'm now going to try a TVC and see how that stacks up. i talked to a friend who has tried both and read a lot of threads; varying opinions on which is better. so far the LDR is awesome, so i might as well see what the TVC is all about too.
anyways, the whole system sounded beyond amazing. he played Kid A, my favorite radiohead album and i heard tons of detail i'd never heard before and i've listened to that album hundreds of times.
so, that got me thinking about my gear and how i could take a step forward. which led me to thinking about volume pots. i've tried passive preamps. a nice DIY pre i bought on BT and a creek OBH-12. i also built a pass B1. after some research about TVCs and LDRs i decided to try a stereo coffee LDR. this is a simple LDR based pre with 3 inputs and 1 output. LDR is used for volume attenuation (there is no gain) and switching between the inputs. why stereo coffee? the price point is pretty attractive for something fully built, i found some glowing reviews on threads (mostly the absolute sound), and the seller seems available and supportive.
it arrived last thursday. here are some pics: http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/f8UCD4Mf/1/7187009 they show the box, unit, my rig and the B1 it replaced.
the sound? so far amazing. very detailed; dead quiet; uncomfortably revealing. i've tried 3 amps with it. it made a hum in my lance cochrane 6L6 amp unbearable, the elekit wasn't detailed enough. for the moment i'm using a TPA 3116 dual chip with an astron power supply. the attenuation and input switching work perfectly so far.
i'm now going to try a TVC and see how that stacks up. i talked to a friend who has tried both and read a lot of threads; varying opinions on which is better. so far the LDR is awesome, so i might as well see what the TVC is all about too.
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