Goldpoint SA4M-47 passive 'preamp' winging its way to Marco Towers...

[Marco]

Indeed, Anthony... As a matter of interest, as you've chosen to fit DACT stepped attenuators, which utilise SMD resistors, in your (£5k?) Soul Mate preamps [and have done for some time], what's your view on their inherent sonic qualities and/or technical suitability for that job, in terms of them maximising signal integrity?

Interesting your point about cables. I wasn't sure if the Goldpoint, being a passive device, would 'like' the MC5000s as much as the Croft does, but there's no difference (no lack of drive or 'oomph'), which shows that they're very good (versatile and transparent) cables.

It's important to keep them as short as possible though (with a passive), as I discovered when I tried a 1m pair from my DAC to the Goldpoint, instead of the 0.5m pair normally used. That had quite a profound negative impact on the sound.

Marco.

[awkwardbydesign]

Every change you make is always going to be system dependent,
For eg, You may find that changing one interconnect now will give a diffrent result than before, this unfortunetly is the nature of the beast, and in some respects can detract folk from the reason they got into HI Fi in the first place, ie; the music!
Our ears, and mood changes from day to day, which also has a big affect on how we percieve music, and sound, so, what may sound right one day, well,,, you get my gist, that is why when you get a system to a certain standard of quality, the final % of tuning will always be subjective, personal choice, and not necessarily fact!

As Homer Simpson says "Facts are meaningless, they can be used to prove anything.

[struth]

you can come up with statistics to prove anything, Forty percent of all people know that.

[Marco]

My view is: in the final analysis (after any objective testing/research has been done), trust your God-given senses [and your ears], as ultimately they're more reliable for assessing how hi-fi equipment sounds than any man-made measurements can ever be!

Marco.

[awkwardbydesign]

trust your God-given senses [and your ears],
Marco.

So, where did you get YOUR ears?

[Marco]

Tesco (buy one , get one free)!

Marco.

[Barry]

Tesco (buy one , get one free)!

Marco.

Tesco often tell Marco to BOGOF!

[Barry]

you can come up with statistics to prove anything, Forty percent of all people know that.

"Lies, damned lies and statistics. "

[Marco]

Tesco often tell Marco to BOGOF!

Marco.

[struth]

Thought it was BOTGTF