I was looking around for quite some time trying to find a simple buffer to drive my high gain power amplifier. Too much gain is a curse that afflicts many systems. It's always seemed nuts to me to throw away most of the signal as it comes in then amplify it again, which is what a normal preamp does most of the time.
The B1 starts with the premise that there is enough gain already and that the only tasks of a preamp are switching, impedance matching and attenuation (not amplification), with attention paid to maintaining the musical integrity of the signal (including nuance & timing) that can get lost on the way through.
This is my first put together Pass B1 buffer preamp. Cabinet is an all-metal case with 8mm anodized alloy faceplate(final).
Few pics of the build.
img4255gw by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4253pi by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4249k by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4248e by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4259jg by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4258z by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4271ub by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4261g by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4263c by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4274dg by hydrovac, on Flickr
pics of my finished B1 Preamp, all wired up and ready for an audition. The source is a Rega Jupiter CDP.
I powered up the system and it started singing like a canary! It is extremely transparent. Sound staging and imaging are spot on. The real strength of this preamp is the extension, both in the bass and treble...The bass is cleaner and better defined. In the upper end, there is much better definiton and increased air, giving a real sense of space around individual instruments and giving proportionate size to singers and musicians on the stage.
Overall, I am super pleased with this preamp as you can probably tell. I would advise anyone to give it a try. Very simple to build, it doesn't need to be expensive, and you may hear a lot of what your current preamp is not telling you.
Cheers!
IMG_4272 by hydrovac, on Flickr
IMG_4275 by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4277vb by hydrovac, on Flickr
IMG_4282 by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4290o by hydrovac, on Flickr
The B1 starts with the premise that there is enough gain already and that the only tasks of a preamp are switching, impedance matching and attenuation (not amplification), with attention paid to maintaining the musical integrity of the signal (including nuance & timing) that can get lost on the way through.
This is my first put together Pass B1 buffer preamp. Cabinet is an all-metal case with 8mm anodized alloy faceplate(final).
Few pics of the build.
img4255gw by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4253pi by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4249k by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4248e by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4259jg by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4258z by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4271ub by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4261g by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4263c by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4274dg by hydrovac, on Flickr
pics of my finished B1 Preamp, all wired up and ready for an audition. The source is a Rega Jupiter CDP.
I powered up the system and it started singing like a canary! It is extremely transparent. Sound staging and imaging are spot on. The real strength of this preamp is the extension, both in the bass and treble...The bass is cleaner and better defined. In the upper end, there is much better definiton and increased air, giving a real sense of space around individual instruments and giving proportionate size to singers and musicians on the stage.
Overall, I am super pleased with this preamp as you can probably tell. I would advise anyone to give it a try. Very simple to build, it doesn't need to be expensive, and you may hear a lot of what your current preamp is not telling you.
Cheers!
IMG_4272 by hydrovac, on Flickr
IMG_4275 by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4277vb by hydrovac, on Flickr
IMG_4282 by hydrovac, on Flickr
img4290o by hydrovac, on Flickr
