Passive preamp buzzing?

[Macca]

You've heard the Croft on a couple of occasions, Martin. which I can assure you is integral to how my system sounds, so you'll know where I'm coming from in terms of what the best active (valve) preamps can do

Marco.

Yes, that and Barry's Mark Levinson are the two best active preamps I have heard. They don't give anything away to a passive. Passives are a lot cheaper, though (except for the Music First one).

[walpurgis]

I was using two very decent pre-amps, a Forte Model 2 (Pass design) solid state pre-amp and a VTL Deluxe valve pre-amp, prior to buying my MC-9 TVC.

The Forte just had the edge on the VTL, but not by much. But, the MC-9 TVC wiped the floor with them. It's also better than the Promitheus TVC I have here. The Promitheus is a nice match to the 306 power amp though. The MC-9 sounds stunning with the Monarchy's.

Going to give the 'Modern Classic Tubes' EL34 Class A valve monos a spin tonight and try them with the Moth Series 30 pre-amp. That's a combo I've not tried yet. I've a feeling good things will happen!

[Marco]

Yes, that and Barry's Mark Levinson are the two best active preamps I have heard. They don't give anything away to a passive. Passives are a lot cheaper, though (except for the Music First one).

Yup, undeniably. However, you know me, and "cheaper" or "dearer" isn't what it's about

Marco.

[Marco]

That's a good point well made there. It's all personal preference. It's a difficult choice between Ultimate resolution and tonal accuracy. Surely there must be something that provides both!!!! Probably not.

Yes there is, a *really* good (active) valve preamp! But it'll cost you...

Its a quality item, the GP. No doubt and iME the less wire the better. No PCB is better and silver usually outperforms copper wire. You've done good things to the GP, Marco. Shaman was wise to pick it up. I'm gonna get him round for a listen to both hopefully. See what he thinks.

Cheers, mate.. Sonically, however, I have to be honest and say that it wasn't worth the money I paid for it new, in stock form. It only really 'came alive' after it'd been worked on. It was certainly well 'screwed together' though, and looked the part.

The sonic effect of every modification carried out to the Goldpoint (not just the addition of the Z-Foils) was analysed individually, including PCB vs. hardwired (with solid-silver cable), and the WBTs in comparison with the stock sockets.

The former was significant, and the latter more subtle (as you'd expect), but every modification carried out, successfully improved the GP's sound in a different but worthwhile way

Marco.

[Bigman80]

I'm not sure about the WBT sockets, they require a really snug fit. I also seem to have varying degrees of snugness between all my inputs. That's with the same set of plugs. I think that'll be on my radar to fix. A good snug connection on everything. Clamping plugs maybe.

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[Marco]

Yes, I agree, but I'm talking about sonically. There's always going to be a compromise, in that respect, with the existence of so little metal.

There's no question however, to my ears, that if you use the right plugs with the WBTs, in order to achieve a secure signal connection, they sound notably better (or rather, when it comes to such things as plugs, 'sound' the least like anything, other than what the source signal does), than any conventional sockets I've tried.

Marco.

[Bigman80]

Yes, I agree, but I'm talking about sonically. There's always going to be a compromise, in that respect, with the existence of so little metal.

There's no question however, to my ears, that if you use the right plugs with the WBTs, in order to achieve a secure signal connection, they sound notably better (or rather, when it comes to such things as plugs, 'sound' the least like anything, other than what the source signal does), than any conventional sockets I've tried.

Marco.

What plugs are we thinking of. Obviously i wont buy them lol

[Marco]

WBTs own, because you can 'clamp' them precisely to the point on the matching sockets [that's the key word] where the copper conductors are fixed. These are the chaps you want (using the same 'minimal metal' principle), unless you fancy shelling out for the silver versions:

http://www.wbt.de/english/products/a...r-topline.html

Essentially both plugs and sockets have been engineered to be used together and physically fit, so it's hardly surprising that's the way they work best! Think about it though, how many of us would consider that fact, and then go to the trouble of using plugs and sockets together from the same manufacturer...?

Attention to detail is king!

Marco.

[Bigman80]

Yep, they are pricey!!

So, alternatively, why aren't BNC used in audio. Surely this would be as matched and a lot cheaper. Also used in test equipment so should be very accurate.

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[Marco]

Yup, technically, BNCs, XLRs and other connectors, commonly used in professional applications, are superior to RCAs, which I suspect only become the de facto standard in home audio equipment, due to cost and marketing.

Marco.