I have been wanting to experiment with a passive preamp or transformer based volume control for a few years now. In fact doing research about passive preamps and autoformer volume controls I found many of my old posts asking about them. Recently Dave kindly let me use one of his autoformer volume controls which was unexpected but heavy boxes at your doorsteps are wonderful things. Out of the box visually it does have the drug through the Hudson look although I would call it steampunk. Very cool looking device and not your ordinary boring high dollar black box solution.
http://www.intactaudio.com/index.html
I'm not an "audiophile" reviewer but just a guy with a new piece of equipment to listen to for a few weeks. As I told Dave and Jeffery I'm not great at putting into words what I hear. I can't discern the crinkling of Diana Kralls nipples as I'm listening to a piece of music nor will I delve into audiophile techno babel verbal masturbation. I hate that crap. Please shoot me if I start to do that.
Now with that out of the way I'll try to tell you what I noticed as best I can. This is in my system in my room so your mileage may very. It took me a little while to find out what this box is and does. I read the
FAQ numerous times. The less is more approach does appeal to me but this thing doesn't even have a power cord LOL. The speakers I use are very revealing and efficient so I am accustomed to detail. This is where I may struggle a little. Now when I added the Slagle AVC it took me a while but I knew something was different. After being in place a few days I noticed there seemed to be even more detail and more information on songs I knew by heart. It was like getting a more powerful microscope but for music and system. When I switched sources it was apparent which source was superior. Listening to cds was not as enjoyable as vinyl. The system with cds sounded pretty good but the vinyl was king in this setup. My 301 suddenly asked me for a better cartridge and my George Wright AG Phono preamp asked me to dial down the gain. Once dialed down it was very nice. I also noticed the needle was dirty faster than normal due to the noise but once removed the music shone through. These were just a few very simple but telling observations. There are times when you add a piece of equipment to your system and it raises the bar. This certainly happened with the Slagle AVC. Adding the AVC reminded me of my first experience with highly efficient speakers. They are very honest and true to the sources and source material. That says more than anything I can think to convey about the AVC. It has been a while since I changed anything in my system so I know it very well. I've been blissfully listening to music since getting my speakers together. Now it seems I may be on a new path. How can so few parts make such a big difference? I don't know but it does. In this instance less is more. Take the less resistive path.
Photo from the first five minutes of listening. Sorry for the iPhone quality pic.
System components:
Speakers
Klipsch Jubilee LF clones.
K403 protorype last hf horn PWK designed with Roy Delgado.
ALK ESN 120DB slope crossover
CD
Cambridge Azur 640C CDP
Phono
Garrard 301 Jelco 12" Ortofon 2M blue
George Wright AG Phono Telefunkens and square halo Mullards.
RTR
Pioneer 707
Amps
SS NAD C326BEE
Tube Luxman KMQ60/SQ38 50CA10 based 30wpc
This post originated at
retro vintage modern hi-fi http://itishifi.blogspot.com
