music first pre compared to glasshouse tvc

I need a pre amp to go with my ART Audio monos/ border patrol power supplies, and i am thinking of going with a tvc.

has anyone compared the mf audio to the glasshouse tvc?

any thoughts welcome, otherwise a nice transparent pre will suffice.

cheers.

 

Im currently in possession of a new glasshouse pre - which has a stepped attenuator in it, with very high quality resistors in it - and I think 52 steps (a lot).

It sounds very good - some people prefer a resistor based stepped attenuator as a passive to a transformer, and it's worth trying both to see what you think.

If you contact glasshouse they may be able to lend you both units.

 

No unfortunately not. I use this one which I'm really happy about. Had some other TVC's going here, but far as good.

http://www.bd-design.nl/contents/en-us/d38.html

Gerner.

 

Bottleneck, i spoke to Nick, he hasn`t any in for me to try

 

aah.

I've had the music first tvc and glasshouse tvc here before.

They werent on the same occasion, but I found them similar.

There is a big price difference between the two.

 

Hi Si,

I hope you are well.

I use a Django TVC which uses S&B transformers and is similar to the music first but cheaper. I have seen the Glasshouse TVc which looks interesting. I have no idea how good the glasshouse is but I expect it to be very good.

A normal passive may work well depending on the input sensitivity and input impedance of your Art Audio power amps. If they are very sensitive then give them a go.

Also look at Promitheus Audio TVC. These are available in many forms at cheap prices. I have heard many very good reports about the cheap one.

http://www.promitheusaudio.com/frontpage.html

Also have a look at the DIYHIFI supply Django TVC. They don't use S&B transformers anymore but may be worth a punt. They do a range with or without remote control and with different types of transformers. You can build your own or buy ready built.

http://www.diyhifisupply.com/diyhs_django.htm


SCIDB

 

I was going to say something similar. Personally I like the transformer method as it ensures a very low output impedance in nearly all cases which is nice.

A resistive based passive can work very well too, but I think its only going to be on the same level as a TVC if your power amps have a very high input impedance. Well over 20KΩ. Rob's system seemed to work well with one and his power amp had 100KΩ input impedance.

If you have the budget then I'd go for a MusicFirst. But the Django will come very close for less outlay.

In fact (and I hope he doesn't ind me saying), I think RobHolt on this forum has a very nice resistive passive kit sitting in a box somewhere. Maybe if you offer him a good price he would let you take it off his hands. They took so long to deliver it that he got bored of waiting. This is the one he bought. http://www.welbornelabs.com/remote.htm

 

The input sensitvity of the amp say 1v or less [ preferable ] and an input impedance of 10 x that of the Pre [TVC] is the ticket. The source say CDP must have a output of over 2V for a TVC to work its best.
The S&B trannies are IMO the most affective ones so far. Unfortunately S&B is no longer selling just the trannies. You gotta buy the whole deal. Now the Glasshouse is a Promitheus in sheeps clothing. The trannies are sourced from Promitheus and then modified by Glasshouse.
In direct comparison of the Music First and Promitheus was close. However the MF took the cake with its body and soul. Found the Promitheus over the long haul to be threadbare in comparison.
Check out the passive from Antique Sound Labs as well. A real sleeper among the TVC crowd. At $750 US its in the middle of the field price wise but not sonics. Besides you don't have to wait for 3 or 4 months to get one.
If budget was no concern the S&B would be my first choice with the ASL very close behind I mean very close. IMO the attenuator is key to obtaining desired sound. The MF and ASL are ahead in that area. IMO the weak link in the Promitheus is the attenuator.
TVC's can be a good thing when all else is right, especially the source and amp.
Good luck trying. Check out the ASL.


rollo

 

Thanks guys.
I`ve took a punt on a fully silver wired Django TVC using the S+B TX-102 which is the one music first use. It`ll be here this week sometime

 

Good luck with the Django. Hope the sound of Silver is your cup of tea. Happy listening.

rollo

 

not sure if it was a silver TVC, i understood it's only an internal wire, just the same as promitheus: copper TVC, silver wiring