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Thread: Icon Audio Passive R?

  1. #21
    Join Date: Mar 2012

    Location: Gloucestershire

    Posts: 3,377
    I'm Paul.

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    A good active is hard to beat imho. As Tom has pointed out, you have to be careful with partnering a passive. I prefer a good active to any TVC as well. The design is there for e reason, to buffer the signal ensuring low output impedance, to provide sufficient drive and to ensure appropriate output sensitivity/gain to match the power amp. The "straight wire" analogy is all very well as a target, but things like gain, output sensitivity and output impedance cannot be ignored in design, and a good active wont necessarily colour the sound if well designed.

    As to the comments on pots, some are better than others (obviously) but the humble Blue Velvet is not only adequate (low noise, reasonable quality) it is still used in a great many so called "high end" amps. The penchant for massive stepped attenuators costing £££££££'s seems to be somewhat of an audio badge, "must have" or fashion. Some amps (including the humble Crofts) simply use inexpensive carbon wipe volume controls costing a few pounds. Personally, I like the Blue Velvet pot as a decent compromise between cost/quality.

  2. #22
    Join Date: Jul 2013

    Location: SE London/Surrey

    Posts: 872
    I'm Pete.

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    As way of a quick update, having been laid up with man flu for most of the week, I finally managed to pick up my Icon Passive R from work yesterday and plumbed her into my system last night:



    Build quality of the main unit is very nice indeed and the remote is a heavyweight if simple three button block of usefulness.

    I'm not sure how many hours I should give the passive to run in, but on an inistail listen, compared to my fully run in/tube rolled Croft, she does sound a bit thin and one dimensional at the moment, so a direct comparison is I think a tad unfair. More comment after a couple of weeks listening...
    CDP: Primare CD31 Amp: Audio Note Oto SE DAC: M2Tech Young & Van Der Graaf PSU Speakers: Tannoy Cheviots
    Streaming: bespoke Korus server with SOtM soundcard, AudioQuest Jitterbug & Furutech GT2 USB cable
    Speaker Cable: Tellurium Q Black - Interconnects: MS Audio/Klotz MC5000


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  3. #23
    Join Date: Mar 2008

    Location: Galashiels

    Posts: 13,669
    I'm inthescottishmafia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reffc View Post
    A good active is hard to beat imho. As Tom has pointed out, you have to be careful with partnering a passive. I prefer a good active to any TVC as well. The design is there for e reason, to buffer the signal ensuring low output impedance, to provide sufficient drive and to ensure appropriate output sensitivity/gain to match the power amp. The "straight wire" analogy is all very well as a target, but things like gain, output sensitivity and output impedance cannot be ignored in design, and a good active wont necessarily colour the sound if well designed.

    As to the comments on pots, some are better than others (obviously) but the humble Blue Velvet is not only adequate (low noise, reasonable quality) it is still used in a great many so called "high end" amps. The penchant for massive stepped attenuators costing £££££££'s seems to be somewhat of an audio badge, "must have" or fashion. Some amps (including the humble Crofts) simply use inexpensive carbon wipe volume controls costing a few pounds. Personally, I like the Blue Velvet pot as a decent compromise between cost/quality.
    Have you tried a Tocos pot?
    “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”

    Hunter S Thompson

  4. #24
    Join Date: Mar 2012

    Location: Gloucestershire

    Posts: 3,377
    I'm Paul.

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    No, never tried one (never come across one tbh).

    However, after messing with various stepped attenuators and ALPs pots over the years, I have to say that a decent ALPs still seems like a decent VFM/quality option all things considered.

  5. #25
    Join Date: Mar 2011

    Location: Preston

    Posts: 197
    I'm Paul.

    Default Icon Audio Passive R?

    Quote Originally Posted by Reffc View Post
    No, never tried one (never come across one tbh).

    However, after messing with various stepped attenuators and ALPs pots over the years, I have to say that a decent ALPs still seems like a decent VFM/quality option all things considered.
    I tried an Alps blue, then shunted, then a DACT and that was a big improvement - but it's £100 more than the Alps so it should be. I tried the dact pre ahead of a rotel integrated and with the rotel flat out to bypass its volume pot, there was a useful improvement from the dact.

    Definitely matters which power amp though, and I found that shorter IC's were better with the passive (5m total from source to power amps was about it)

    Anyone tried Penny and Giles sliders? As used in Neve mixing desks?

    The icon is a nice pre but nowt special. Oddly, we found that it was better with the power for the remote applied than without.
    SBT/Chromecast/TEAC T1 into TEAC D-T1 DAC or olde-worlde Rega Planar 2 controlled by Rotel RC850 into HH S500D or DACT Passive Pre into Mullard 5-20 monos. Then into Tannoy Cheviots and a Wharfdale sub. All connected by colourful cables.

  6. #26
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: west mids, UK

    Posts: 3,268
    I'm Phil.

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    Quote Originally Posted by montesquieu View Post
    Yes this is a copper one .. I did try the silver but preferred copper (as, indeed does Jonathan Billington of Music First - people asked him for a silver one so he made it, but he's very clear it's not an 'upgrade', just a different model that happens to cost more because of the material used).
    yes having read the write up on tnt audio re silver or copper and having had both copper and silver , I do like the copper very much
    ou might slip, you might slide, you might
    Stumble and fall by the road side
    But don't you ever let nobody drag your spirit down
    Remember you're walking up to heaven

    Don't let nobody turn you around
    … Walk with the rich, walk with the poor
    Learn from everyone, that's what life is for
    And don't you let nobody drag your spirit down

    Eric Bibb

  7. #27
    Join Date: Mar 2008

    Location: Galashiels

    Posts: 13,669
    I'm inthescottishmafia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reffc View Post
    No, never tried one (never come across one tbh).

    However, after messing with various stepped attenuators and ALPs pots over the years, I have to say that a decent ALPs still seems like a decent VFM/quality option all things considered.
    Don't disagree, they make sense from a commercial point of view, just there is better out there at around the same cost.

    Give a Tocos a go, Hi Fi Collective sell them.
    “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”

    Hunter S Thompson

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