Passive preamp buzzing?

[Bigman80]

Great tips guys. I'll give it a go and report back.

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[Marco]

Hi Marco,

I didn't buy it �� it's on loan from Shaman. He's a top banana. Initial impressions are good although it's quite "coarse" sounding compared to my bog standard unit. This is probably due to the level of transparency. Vocals and top end are outrageously good. It was like I'd put a different cartridge on the TT. I suspect it's more a case of letting all the gear warm up and getting used to it a bit. Channels separation is phenomenal and the soundstage is obviously wider and deeper. Vocals a touch more forward I think my preamp is a touch more fluid but silver v copper ime can show that to be the case. All in all. It's surprising how much difference it makes.

No worries, mate. Interesting comments, many of which I agree with, especially about the vocals, top end and resolution, as that's how it was voiced (Z-foil resistors being particularly influential there). However it shouldn't sound course, just be ruthlessly revealing!

I liked it a lot, but ultimately it was always going to play second fiddle to the Croft, at over four times the cost, which was just that bit more capable. Do try it with different cables (or rather with plugs that make a better connection with the WBT sockets), and twist them left and right, when they're plugged into the sockets, as I'm almost certain that will cure the buzzing.

Marco.

[Bigman80]

Yes, maybe it's my ears not being used to it. The resolution is almost overwhelming at the minute. But yes, it's very good. I'm not sure why resistors are used though?

Not questioning just lacking knowledge.

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[Bigman80]

If you turn the volume down to zero and the buzzing is still there it must be due to a fault in a cable or in the Goldpoint. At zero volume the output should be shorted to ground and therefore silent. If not, a definite fault.

Still buzzing when volume is on Zero. Not tried different cables yet though.

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[Bigman80]

Ok,. Cables swapped and buzzing gone.

Sat down for a listen and I realised the harshness was actually distortion. In go the headphone and yep, distortion. I have swapped the output from high out to low out on the Jolida and the distortion has gone. Now it's distortion free but really quiet. Hmmm.

Gain is adjustable on the Jolida but lowering it is for MM carts which the ZYX definitely isn't. Hmmm

What I've just heard has convinced me to get a better pre though.

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[walpurgis]

Sounds like you've gone from input overload to input underload. The ZYX should drive well enough, so maybe the Jolida is not a match to the passive.

If you like the sound of a passive, I'd suggest getting your mitts on a TVC to try Oliver. To me, the difference is 'night and day'.

[Bigman80]

Sounds like you've gone from input overload to input underload. The ZYX should drive well enough, so maybe the Jolida is not a match to the passive.

If you like the sound of a passive, I'd suggest getting your mitts on a TVC to try Oliver. To me, the difference is 'night and day'.

Well I've gone to high gain and used the low output RCAs and it's distortion free. Odd. Treble which was previously coarse is now much more palatable so previous statement withdrawn. Seem to have have lost a bit of soundstage too. Maybe a compatibility issue seeing as the Jolida has ridiculously high gain anyway or could be the earphones. I don't usually listen too carefully through the cans.

Having a brief listen and i think the biggest difference is the dual mono setup. Far superior to the stereo job in my pre. I'd definitely love to try a TVC Geoff. Just need someone to borrow me one lol.



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[Marco]

Glad you seem to have got things sorted, Oliver. Thought it might be the cables (or rather the plugs not making proper contact with the sockets), as I occasionally encountered the same issue

It's an unfortunate by-product of using minimal amount of metal in the signal path, which in my experience has significant sonic benefits. It's a WBT Nextgen thing:



You can see there just how easy it might be for some plugs not to 'mate' securely with the metal contact points, being as there is so little of them!

However, given the volume setting on the Goldpoint (as pictured), the gain structure in your system must be rather different from that in mine, as on the setting shown, the sound would've been loud enough to have blown the roof off!!

Most of my listening, with the Goldpoint (and it was pretty loud there), was at 10pm on both dials. You're right, however, that the channel separation (and stereo imaging) is significantly better when you have dual-mono volume controls.

Hope you enjoy the Goldpoint and manage to get the most from it. If you can, you'll be in for a treat!

Marco.

[Bigman80]

Glad you seem to have got things sorted, Oliver. Thought it might be the cables (or rather the plugs not making proper contact with the sockets), as occasionally I encountered the same issue

It's an unfortunate by-product of using the minimal amount of metal in the signal path, which in my experience has significant sonic benefits. It's a WBT Nextgen thing:



You can see there just how easy it might be for some plugs not to 'mate' securely with the metal contact points, being as there is so little of them!

However, given the volume setting on the Goldpoint (as pictured), the gain structure in your system must be rather different from that in mine, as on the setting shown, the sound would've been loud enough to have blown the roof off!!

Most of my listening, with the Goldpoint (and it was pretty loud there), was at 10pm on both dials. You're right, however, that the channel separation (and stereo imaging) is significantly better when you have dual-mono volume controls.

Hope you enjoy the Goldpoint and manage to get the most from it. If you can, you'll be in for a treat!

Marco.

Hi Marco,

Yes there is definitely a bit of fine tuning needed. The volume is not quite right via the Creek HA so I'll do some more tinkering tomorrow. 12 hour shift today.

I like the WBT sockets but they aren't a good match for the MS Audio plugs. No issues when the cables swapped. Good ol' neutrik lol

I'll report back when I've given it a thorough run.



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[Marco]

No problem. It's not a disaster if that's where you end up using the dials, but the Goldpoint's been designed to sound best, used with them turned down more (to achieve the same loudness level), as at that point there are less shunt resistors in the signal path.

You have both shunt and series resistors in the Goldpoint. The Z-Foils I mentioned earlier are the series resistors, and there are only two (one for each channel, left and right).

Essentially, the more you turn up the volume (increase each 'step' on the dual-mono attenuators), the more shunt resistors are 'in circuit', so the potential for sonic degradation increases with every 'click'. It's just the way it's been designed.

You can see all the (surface mounted) shunt resistors employed, with each attenuator 'step' (the little square numbered things), on this link: http://www.goldpt.com/big.html

So you want to minimise the amount of steps you need to use, in order to achieve the desired volume.

The only way you'll be able to do that yourself, is to alter the current 'gain structure' in your system, either by using a source component with a higher output voltage (check the specs), or a more sensitive power amp (or a combo of both), and then you won't need to turn the Goldpoint up as much.

You could also alter the value of the series resistors, to achieve a similar effect, but that's a more technical thing and involves some soldering. Hope that all makes sense!

This is also a useful link, explaining the differences (pros and cons) between series, ladder and shunt-type stepped attenuators, used in passive preamps: http://www.goldpt.com/attenuator_types.html The Goldpoint you're using is a series-type.

Marco.