[doug s.]

Do you really wanna put something else in the signal path?     How could that possibly not muck things up.....even just a lil bit?!   

here's my take - the ldr's are amazingly transparent.  being able to run my pre's wolume pots at ~80-90% wide open, (which seems to give the best results, compared to 100% wide open), along with using the eva-2, nets an overall sonic improvement.

doug s.

[Steve]

Do you really wanna put something else in the signal path?     How could that possibly not muck things up.....even just a lil bit?!   

Yep, never met a remote that did not adversely affect the signal quality.

Cheers.

[doug s.]

Yep, never met a remote that did not adversely affect the signal quality.

Cheers.

you might want to meet eva-2...   

doug s.

[toobluvr]

does eva have nice knobs?     

[stew]

Try Blue Circle! There is a BC21.1 which is a great "budget" tube preamp for sale on Audiogon, along with a few other higher-end BC tubed preamps (BC3000 & BC3 Despina). The owner of BC can also do upgrades/improvements upon request.

No, I am not one of the AG sellers , but I do love BC gear. They have big knobs.

[Steve]

you might want to meet eva-2...   

doug s.

I am not posting to degrade any manufacturer, I hope that is understood. But Doug, you cannot compare apples to oranges; a passive volume control vs an entire active preamplifier with gainstage. So where is the gainstage belonging to the passive preamplifier, and its quality? It is in the amplifier, now called an integrated amplifier.

What about the interconnect cable (IC) capacitance and the influence it has on the resistance of the passive control? An active preamplifier has minimal problems to say the least since the volume control does not see the IC capacitance, but simply the small input capacitance of the tube.

How is any preamplifier, whether transformer or resistance type tested? Simply "voiced" in a system and given an opinion. So how accurate is that evaluation?
I have yet to hear a passive that didn't mess with the music. Sorry to say so as incorporating a SS remote would certainly increase my sales. I am not saying the Eva-2 is not good, it is probably great, especially for the buck. But passive is passive, with their unique problems, and one does not get something for nothing. Keep the IC capacitance as low as possible for best performance.

Inside an active preamplifier without the IC capacitance to worry about would be best.

Cheers.

[toobluvr]

I have yet to hear a passive that didn't mess with the music. Sorry to say so as incorporating a SS remote would certainly increase my sales. I am not saying the Eva-2 is not good, I am sure it is great for the buck. But passive is passive with its own problems.

Correct me if I am wrong here, but isn't Doug just piggy backing the eva into his system?  In other words,  he is not replacing his active with a passive, he is adding the passive remote volume control in addition to his active preamp....to give him remote capabilities...I think.

So not only is he adding in the eva, there is another IC as well!  That is why I asked earlier how could it not muck up the sound.....even minimally? 

[Steve]

Correct me if I am wrong here, but isn't Doug just piggy backing the eva into his system?  In other words,  he is not replacing his active with a passive, he is adding the passive remote volume control in addition to his active preamp....to give him remote capabilities...I think.

So not only is he adding in the eva, there is another IC as well!  That is why I asked earlier how could it not muck up the sound.....even minimally? 

Well if he is, he also added another IC as you correctly state; unless he physically mounted it to his active preamp and hardwired to help minimize capacitance. But I doubt he did the latter so I feel you are correct. Of course I have heard typical shaft type variable controls that horribly degraded the sound, so maybe the SS unit is better than those poor controls.

Anyway, even if he substituted the passive for the active, he has to contend with balancing the total resistance and IC capacitance the source sees, and passive's output resistance and IC capacitance it, the passive, sees.

But the fact remains it is SS and I have never heard in my experiences, one yet that was accurate. But if he has made a breakthrough (they do happen all the time) maybe I can use it internally in my preamplifiers.

Cheers.

[doug s.]

Well if he is, he also added another IC as you correctly state; unless he physically mounted it to his active preamp and hardwired to help minimize capacitance. But I doubt he did the latter so I feel you are correct. Of course I have heard typical shaft type variable controls that horribly degraded the sound, so maybe the SS unit is better than those poor controls.

Anyway, even if he substituted the passive for the active, he has to contend with balancing the total resistance and IC capacitance the source sees, and passive's output resistance and IC capacitance it, the passive, sees.

But the fact remains it is SS and I have never heard in my experiences, one yet that was accurate. But if he has made a breakthrough (they do happen all the time) maybe I can use it internally in my preamplifiers.

Cheers.

steve, yes, i piggy-backed the eva-2 into my system.  no way i would ever use only a passive pre in my system.  no, i do not claim to be the golden eared one, whose judgment on all things audio should be taken as gospel.  i only know what i hear.  but, i strongly recommend checking out the latest ldr resistor technology for use in your preamps. 

here's one of many links to ldr attenuator info:
http://diyparadise.com/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=143&Itemid=26

i would love to rip out the wolume control from my active tube preamp, (also photentiometer based), and replace it w/something as simple and user-friendly as the ldr application.  meanwhile, i am happy w/the piggy-back solution, as it does no harm in my system.

doug s.

[rollo]

 You are not alone Doug I as well am very interested in trying a LDR volume control in lieu of the Elma pots. BTW have you compared your active to the Passive ?
  I have had the pleasure of using trannie based passives, including the bent with S&B trannies, Promitheus modded by Mapleshade and IMO the only issue is weight of the sound. Ya know meat on the bone type of sound. Saying that the  openess, air, decay of notes, silent black background and detail cannot b matched by my Loesch and Weisner active preamp. However prefering the active overall for its soul and weight. The passives especially trannie based work very well if ones source is over a 2V output and the amp has a very low input sensitivity. Passives are NOT for all applications. Stay away from resistor based passives as all I have heard were just to thin and over detailed.  When the formula is right the trannie based  can be quite good if not startling.


charles

[doug s.]

You are not alone Doug I as well am very interested in trying a LDR volume control in lieu of the Elma pots. BTW have you compared your active to the Passive ?
  I have had the pleasure of using trannie based passives, including the bent with S&B trannies, Promitheus modded by Mapleshade and IMO the only issue is weight of the sound. Ya know meat on the bone type of sound. Saying that the  openess, air, decay of notes, silent black background and detail cannot b matched by my Loesch and Weisner active preamp. However prefering the active overall for its soul and weight. The passives especially trannie based work very well if ones source is over a 2V output and the amp has a very low input sensitivity. Passives are NOT for all applications. Stay away from resistor based passives as all I have heard were just to thin and over detailed.  When the formula is right the trannie based  can be quite good if not startling.


charles

hi charles,

no, i have not tried eva-2 as a stand-alone preamp.  i thought of trying it as a temporary thing, yust out of curiosity's sake, but it's not practical for a long term solution for me, as i have five sources, plus a tape loop w/a dbx 3bx that i like to use for overly compressed software.

i have read a lot of other's opinions about how these ldr-based attenuators, (not only the diyparidise offerings), are so great, even when compared to tvc's, etc., so i do wonder, a bit.  but, like you, i am not sure i could live with the loss of the weight of a good active tube preamp.  in my rig, w/preamp several meters away from amps, and actively tri-amping, i am not sure using solely a passive preamp, even if it had all the features i need, would be a feasible solution.  but, i was conwinced enough from what others have said, that an ldr passive would work adequately as a remote for an active pre, w/o paying a sonic penalty.  it was priced reasonably enough, and in enough demand, so i knew i wouldn't take much of a financial loss if it didn't work out.  as it turns out, i took a financial loss for the entire price, because i have no near-term intention of selling it.   

doug s.

[RCduck7]

i am w/you; remote wolume is critical.  even tho my preamp, (which i love), has remote, it's not the most ergonomically friendly, so i looked for another solution; check this out:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=76898.msg753549#msg753549

doug s.

Intresting, so how and where will this volume controller be connected in a system? On the preamp? Source? Between the pre amp line output and power amp input i presume?

[RCduck7]

I read a quote on a forum once about someone his experience about passive pre amplifiers he tried, saying that he had good weight to the sound with a "Music Audio First" passive preamp compared to his previous passives. Not sure it could compare to an active though. Maybe it all comes down to the system it is used in but i wonder if someone has experience with a Music Audio First.

http://www.mfaudio.co.uk/classic.htm

[Steve]

i would love to rip out the wolume control from my active tube preamp, (also photentiometer based), and replace it w/something as simple and user-friendly as the ldr application.  meanwhile, i am happy w/the piggy-back solution, as it does no harm in my system.

doug s.

I see a few concerns that others have mentioned. The first is that tube, but even SS active preamplifiers have gains that drift, so balancing compensation needs to be addressed. Consistency in production is another.

The third concern is the actual total resistance of the photo resistors. As one goes higher in total resistance, and reaching mid "rotation" in the "wiper arm", high frequency response suffers the worst. Even a 50k control seems too high to me. 100k and especially 250k ohms are simply unexceptable to me.

Does anyone know the resistances of the 2? 

Thanks.

[doug s.]

I see a few concerns that others have mentioned. The first is that tube, but even SS active preamplifiers have gains that drift, so balancing compensation needs to be addressed. Consistency in production is another.

The third concern is the actual total resistance of the photo resistors. As one goes higher in total resistance, and reaching mid "rotation" in the "wiper arm", high frequency response suffers the worst. Even a 50k control seems too high to me. 100k and especially 250k ohms are simply unexceptable to me.

Does anyone know the resistances of the 2? 

Thanks.

steve,

my active preamp is true dual-mono, which allows for balancing, for gain drift.  it also makes its remote action a pita, as they do not track evenly w/the remote.  you need to adjust balance w/a second button on the remote that adjusts only one channel.  i do not know the technology of the pot in my melos; it uses a wacuum tube for adjusting the current; the manual alps pots  supposedly are not in the signal path, only adjusting the tube woltage.  mark porzilli, who designed it, says it is even better than the original photentiometer pot.  now, they can be set  and left alone, w/the eva-2 doing the adjustment of both channels together.

i don't know the resistance of the eva-2, but i bet they would tell you if you asked.  i have also seen these ldr resistor's f/s from suppliers; i bet you could get different resistance ratings...

doug s.

[drphoto]

Vulcan, I'm quite pleased w/ my newly arrived Mapletree 4A SE pre. Soundstage is wall to wall and the tone is great. It has the blackgate cap upgrade, an upgraded umbilical and NOS Sylvania tubes.

Speakers totally disappear now. It was funny to see the cats looking around trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from.

[bosound]

To me, The latest iteration of the Modwright 9.0SE with tube rectified power supply and Modwright caps hits the pinnacle of price/performance ratio. Dan may have one or 2 left or a trade in that can be had at a great price. In my system, it has bested a $7000 and $5000 tube preamp that I have subsequently sold and the Modwright stayed. Just spend a little extra for a metal base Mullard rectifier and you are set!
David

I have a ModWright 9.0 SE with ModWright caps too.  With a metal base Mullard rectifier this easily beats out 5K and 7K pre-amps, just as you say.  I agree that this is a price/performance world champion.   A high end audio dealer who came to my house to install a Nottingham Dais turntable was shocked at how good my system sounded at a MUCH lower price point than the $$$$ system on which he had heard the Dais at his place.  I credit the pre-amp for elevating my system performance WAY beyond its purchase price point.   One of my friends has a system replete with high priced components, $70 K speakers, $20K pre-amp, etc. etc.   I will never be able to afford that kind of gear.  Judging by the look on his face when transfixed by the sound of my system  at a MUCH lower price, I will never need to afford that kind of gear...

In all fairness, I have read and implemented the suggestions in the book "Get Better Sound" by Jim Smith  (no connection to him or to ModWright, by the way, except as a happy customer)   If my buddy's high end system got the "Get Better Sound" treatment of optimizing the system to the room I'm  willing to concede that it might best my system sound.  I don't think he has done that yet.
 
There are lots of options.  Use your ears and the same music to audition everything you can.  Have a "plan"  (i.e. low power to high-eff speakers vs.  lots of clean power to full range multidriver lower efficiency speakers, vs electrostatic with a sub tuned to  the main speakers and room, etc. etc.)   I like the  tube pre to SS power amp approach.  It works for me.

After many many hours, my Mullard just gave out....  On the search for another.