Does this qualify as a passive stereo preamp ? :-)

[availlyrics]

IME, even a simple looking harmless wire is a degrade in audio. Let alone active devices.

A truly "Unplugged" live band has the best dynamic range, but was available only for the listening pleasures of aristrocats, monarchs, nawabs, maharajas & the fortunate few of that bygone era. Thanks to engineering acomplishments (read-compromises) of the last century, atleast we are lucky enough to enjoy some level of musical bliss in our 1BHK or on the go.

 

[availlyrics]

But what is your point ? What qualifies as good equipment as per your analysis ?

My point is, boutique companies, audiophiles & $pon$ored reviewers alike , often use floral language to describe sound reproduction as dark , veiled, laid back, warm, etc.. If someone claims to see the proverbial "Emperors new clothes", then who am I to disagree?
Qualiities that I look for in any good equipment is proper published specifications / datasheets which can be verified by any 3rd party reviewer (Like Amir from ASR or MIA NwAvGuy). Last but not least, my understanding of that particular equipment design, listening impressions and my budget.
e.g. Similar to Schitt Audio, there is one more company named B*S* who are (in)famous for not publishing full specs of their B*S* products, as such I totally avoid buying products from these companies.
Disclaimer: For my own personal safety and sanity , lets not discuss anything more about that B*S* company

Back to our topic of discussion, I can make buffer circuit for you and then you can compare the same with your passive preamp and decide yourself what is best suited for your purpose

 

[Hari Iyer]

A truly "Unplugged" live band has the best dynamic range, but was available only for the listening pleasures of aristrocats, monarchs, nawabs, maharajas & the fortunate few of that bygone era. Thanks to engineering acomplishments (read-compromises) of the last century, atleast we are lucky enough to enjoy some level of musical bliss in our 1BHK or on the go.

Alright

 

[Amarendra]

My point is, boutique companies, audiophiles & $pon$ored reviewers alike , often use floral language to describe sound reproduction as dark , veiled, laid back, warm, etc.. If someone claims to see the proverbial "Emperors new clothes", then who am I to disagree?
Qualiities that I look for in any good equipment is proper published specifications / datasheets which can be verified by any 3rd party reviewer (Like Amir from ASR or MIA NwAvGuy). Last but not least, my understanding of that particular equipment design, listening impressions and my budget.
e.g. Similar to Schitt Audio, there is one more company named B*S* who are (in)famous for not publishing full specs of their B*S* products, as such I totally avoid buying products from these companies.
Disclaimer: For my own personal safety and sanity , lets not discuss anything more about that B*S* company

Back to our topic of discussion, I can make buffer circuit for you and then you can compare the same with your passive preamp and decide yourself what is best suited for your purpose

Noted but which products do you admire ? I am just curious to know. Honestly I always thought that Schiit was a company run by technically strong ppl.

 

[availlyrics]

I like Benchmark Audio products( https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes ), never heard them and definitely can't afford them, so I settled for NAD.
Another good company is SMSL, I was planning to buy their DAC (after my Asus Xonar D2X got kaput) but got Allo Boss DAC as a gift from a freind, @mbhangui patiently helped me to set it up.
I'm not a big fan of vinyl, bluetooth, streaming services or hi-res audio, just simple CDA or FLAC @16 bit/44KHz is good enough for me.
For my next DIY tri-amp build I will be using speaker drivers sourced from Daytona Audio (The engineers at TI use it as a reference for their active crossover designs). I have a Koss studio grade headphones driven by NwAvGuy O2 headphones amp for critical listening.
No fancy interconnects and CAT-5 lan cables for speaker wires.

 

[mbhangui]

I like Benchmark Audio products( https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes ), never heard them and definitely can't afford them, so I settled for NAD.
Another good company is SMSL, I was planning to buy their DAC (after my Asus Xonar D2X got kaput) but got Allo Boss DAC as a gift from a freind, @mbhangui patiently helped me to set it up.
I'm not a big fan of vinyl, bluetooth, streaming services or hi-res audio, just simple CDA or FLAC @16 bit/44KHz is good enough for me.
For my next DIY tri-amp build I will be using speaker drivers sourced from Daytona Audio (The engineers at TI use it as a reference for their active crossover designs). I have a Koss studio grade headphones driven by NwAvGuy O2 headphones amp for critical listening.
No fancy interconnects and CAT-5 lan cables for speaker wires.

Looks like we have travelled the same road. I try very hard not to get swayed by subjective impressions made by my own brain let alone glowing reviews by the paid british, canadian, indian audiophile guy on some equipment.

1. I too use the O2 headphone amp designed by NwAvGuy. Tried multiple headphone amps and keep on falling back to the O2 amp. It was designed by an engineer and not by paul, peter or mary.
2. Replaced most of my interconnects with twisted pairs taken out from CAT-5 ethernet cables. They are the best when it comes to not loosing the HF.
3. For volume control I use Nelson Pass B1 buffer. Sure there are better buffers. Now that @Amarendra has tasted blood with a simple volume control, that is the next he could try.
4. Have used A/B switches with split sec switching to see that cables, DACs and even AMPS to some extent are a solved problem. It is a waste of time listening to user reviews on how fantastic a super expensive dacs are compared to dacs from SMSL/Toppings
5. Take it with a pinch of salt when people hear magic with some cable, valve or some $$ equipment. Sure they are hearing it. But then remember people have heard a mysterious voice telling them to lead people and draft new religions. And there are laws to prevent you from countering that because they are the majority. Also livelyhood of many depends on propagating those fairy tales. It creates a law & order problem just mentioning the word. Just say cables in any audiophile forum, hell will break loose.
6. Allo did some good engineering thanks to a good designer Johan from France. It was good till it lasted. The employees have formed a new company Rabas, but I doubt they will come with Johan out of the loop.
7. So much snake oil in the industry and it is not so different than what you see with the murderous religious and political fanatics running wild nowdays. Imagine the turmoil one undergoes when they mention that their cable is undergoing break-in, as if it some automobile where the piston and cylinder are getting smoothened after a 10,000 km drive?
8. The Chinese are really are on to something. But they still cannot beat the cutting edge innovations that happens only in US/Europe. At some point of time they will have to build world class universities that attract young people towards STEM away from vodoo.
9. Nothing beats DIY if you have the chops.
10. Speakers are still not a solved problem. It is complicated because you are trying to reproduce sound that comes from different physical sound source with just a coil, magnet and a paper cone (or equivalent) inside a room that nowhere near the actual surrounding where the sound was recorded. Our ear can easily detect that cheating that is happening. My guess it will always remain unsolved till someone comes with something that totally is different from a traditional speaker.
11. Nothing can violate the 3 laws of thermodynamics and if someone tells you science is not perfect and cannot measure audio, just smile and tell them 'whatever rocks your boat' and move on.