KT88 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I'm a fan of active pre amps, but it doesn't necessarily have to have gain to get a good sound. I have the smallest pre amp from Croft from 1991, he built it as a pure tube cathode follower, so just this one stage. (with an additional phono input). Its purpose was to be used with vintage Leak amps which have a very high 10mV input sensitivity, almost like a guitar amp. I have two Leak Stereo 20s and a 30% attenuation of the gain in the Croft pre amp is exactly what I need when, for example, a CD player comes out with 1.5 V output voltage. The difference to the passive pre amp is that the Croft provides a rich and musical signal with a low output impedance, even though it does not amplify but attenuates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Not sure I understand what you are saying. If the Leak amp had a 10mV input sensitivity, you would need a preamp with a s&*t ton of gain. So you are saying the Croft had LOTS of gain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 3 hours ago, Shakeydeal said: Not sure I understand what you are saying. If the Leak amp had a 10mV input sensitivity, you would need a preamp with a s&*t ton of gain. So you are saying the Croft had LOTS of gain? Ummmm no 10mV is a really low input sensitivity. The VRD was setup at the industry standard for a power amp of 1 Volt to full power. That is what input sensitivity rating is (input voltage to full power). Most modern integrated amplifier (power amp with volume control and source selector switch) are around 500mV to full power. 10mV is insanely sensitive which Leak amps are renowned for! Which also makes them extremely suspectable to noise pickup. Cheers Craig 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Oops, you are right. I was thinking 10 VOLTS! My faux pas... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWL Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 On 1/30/2024 at 3:55 PM, Idontknow said: Thanks for the recommendation. I love the Nobsound so much, I don't even bother with the SYS either now. I reviewed it here. This is the one I use. It was only something like $60 bucks. Using it today with a Denon 5700 and a Schiit Aegir at low volumes sounds sweet. For some reason I don't care to use this passive pre for louder volumes.....never sounds quite right.....but lower volumes just sound great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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