Wanted : Valve Pre Amp - WHY?

[User211]

I did but a few comments in a couple of reviews put me off

I'd like to hear their current DAC. Their Doge 6 CDP sounded better than a Nagra CDP to me a few years back. And by quite a bit I thought.

No mean feat considering the massive price difference.

[Bigman80]

Aye there's the rub. Box-swaping is an uneasy mix of paying a bit more (though not always) to dealers where you can try before you buy, or taking a punt on something at a price where you hope you won't get scalped from moving it on if it's not a good fit.

Mostly I've played the latter game (and lost a fair amount of scalp in the process) but these days I'm doing more stuff with dealers, as I use what I've learned from box-swapping to help me zoom in better on what I know is more likely to be what I like/will work in my setup.

It's a tough call and forums while helpful are not necessarily reliable because some people are just tone deaf sorry I'll rephrase that people's taste is different and something that another person likes might sound appalling to your ears.

Had a very similar convo to this end earlier on, sometimes you buy something and it tells you more about what you DONT want. It's an expensive experiment every time we space a part out. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. Hopefully, we don't lose any money.

[Bigman80]

I did but a few comments in a couple of reviews put me off

It uses Blue Alps potentiometers which are a red flag to me.

[User211]

It uses Blue Alps potentiometers which are a red flag to me.

They go noisy after some years. They are cheap though, so no issue but there is much better about.

Alps RK50 is another matter. Got one of those.

[Bigman80]

They go noisy after some years. They are cheap though, so no issue but there is much better about.

Alps RK50 is another matter. Got one of those.

They go noisy, they also aren't very transparent. The amount of information lost at the Volume pot was a big shock and only came to light when I tried other styles. Stepped attenuators are superior.

[User211]

They go noisy, they also aren't very transparent. The amount of information lost at the Volume pot was a big shock and only came to light when I tried other styles. Stepped attenuators are superior.

Tell that to Tim De Paravicini. He puts them in his expensive preamps.

I have one currently in my active preamp. But that preamp sounds better than the EAR868 (Alps Blue) according to me.

I replaced one in an old integrated. They are everywhere. Hard to avoid.

It's the sum of how the whole circuit sounds. If you just use them in passive preamps then compare with much better pots you will conclude they are shite I am sure.

[Bigman80]

Tell that to Tim De Paravicini. He puts them in his expensive preamps.

I have one currently in my active preamp. But that preamp sounds better than the EAR868 (Alps Blue) according to me.

I replaced one in an old integrated. They are everywhere. Hard to avoid.

It's the sum of how the whole circuit sounds. If you just use them in passive preamps then compare with much better pots you will conclude they are shite I am sure.

I don't intend to tell Tim DP anything lol, what he has forgotten is more than I'll ever understand.

It's just been my experience that the Alps Blue just isn't a great potentiometer. Far better available.

[Barry]

It's just been my experience that the Alps Blue just isn't a great potentiometer. Far better available.

Penny & Giles?

Bourne, Allen Bradley, TDK, Panasonic, .... ?

[Bigman80]

Penny & Giles?

Bourne, Allen Bradley, TDK, Panasonic, .... ?

What's that mean Barry? Better pots?

[Jimbo]

Use two cheap pots, one for each channel and you won't have to bother buying anything expensive or fuss to much over the design!