Forums - Passive preamps murdering sound stage?

hells

Senior Member

Posts: 75

Passive preamps murdering sound stage?
06/03/20 at 17:55:13

Hey all,

I decided to try a Tisbury Passive Preamp, and just took receipt of it earlier. It's exhibiting the same issue I had with my other preamp that had a passive mode (Schiit Freya S) in that it just destroys the soundstage. Everything becomes centered, even on excellent recordings that when going directly to the amp produce a wonderfully large sound stage (Bubbles by Yosi Horikawa, Well, You Needn't by Thelonius Monk Septet). The Freya S in active mode restored most of the sound stage, but not quite as good as direct to the amp.

The amp right now is the SE84UFO as I await the Torii Jr from the mothership to arrive in my home. Has anybody experienced this?

- Brandon

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hells Senior Member Posts: 75	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #1 - 06/03/20 at 18:01:52 Annnd figured it out! It was my Y cable splitting from the output to my subwoofer. Wow...all this pain for something so simple.
Back to top	Omega CAM's \| Rythmik F12SE \| Schiit Gungnir MB \| Torii Jr/25th Anniv \| SE84UFO \| Thorens TD160BC MkII \| Tisbury Mini Passive Preamp II \| Hegel H190 IP Logged

HockessinKid Seasoned Member Posts: 1247	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #2 - 06/03/20 at 19:14:22 You might want to check the polarity of the preamp. Try switching the + and - wires on your speaker terminal connections. See your soundstage improves. HK
Back to top	Nottingham Interspace TT > Modwright PH 9.0XT phono preamp OR MWI modded Cambridge CNX V2 > CSP3-25th Ann. preamp > STL STR-1002 Super > ZMA-25th Ann. amp > PI Audio UberBUSS > Caintuck Audio Lii15 Magnum speakers > VeraFi SDFB's > SA AUVA's > SRA & ZenWave cables IP Logged

hells Senior Member Posts: 75	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #3 - 06/03/20 at 19:53:48 No the polarity is correct, the y adaptor was bridging the preamp into mono on all outputs lol. I was taking the L + R of the output into a single female connector going to my sub. Now it's just the L output going to it and all is well.
Back to top	Omega CAM's \| Rythmik F12SE \| Schiit Gungnir MB \| Torii Jr/25th Anniv \| SE84UFO \| Thorens TD160BC MkII \| Tisbury Mini Passive Preamp II \| Hegel H190 IP Logged

Lin Ex Member	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #4 - 06/03/20 at 22:50:07 What sub did you get?
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hells Senior Member Posts: 75	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #5 - 06/03/20 at 22:51:02 Rythmik F12SE XLR3 (default option)
Back to top	Omega CAM's \| Rythmik F12SE \| Schiit Gungnir MB \| Torii Jr/25th Anniv \| SE84UFO \| Thorens TD160BC MkII \| Tisbury Mini Passive Preamp II \| Hegel H190 IP Logged

Lin Ex Member	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #6 - 06/03/20 at 23:05:13 You have HT and music 2 ch combined?
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hells Senior Member Posts: 75	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #7 - 06/03/20 at 23:08:16 No, this sub is used for music with my Omega's. It adds quite a bit of extension when matched properly (https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_subwooferkicktest.php helps with that!) just getting line out to it is a PITA.
Back to top	Omega CAM's \| Rythmik F12SE \| Schiit Gungnir MB \| Torii Jr/25th Anniv \| SE84UFO \| Thorens TD160BC MkII \| Tisbury Mini Passive Preamp II \| Hegel H190 IP Logged

Lin Ex Member	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #8 - 06/03/20 at 23:27:39 It doesn't have L and R rca inputs?
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hells Senior Member Posts: 75	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #9 - 06/03/20 at 23:30:56 It does, I just had one good RCA subwoofer cable from Bluejeans atm. When I get the second I'll add that input. But finding nice passive preamps with 2 rca out at the same time was the issue but that search is over now.
Back to top	Omega CAM's \| Rythmik F12SE \| Schiit Gungnir MB \| Torii Jr/25th Anniv \| SE84UFO \| Thorens TD160BC MkII \| Tisbury Mini Passive Preamp II \| Hegel H190 IP Logged

Lin Ex Member	Re: PasNosive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #10 - 06/03/20 at 23:36:42 I assume no speaker level inputs? How about something like this? https://www.crutchfield.com/S-fv11942biRW/p_543ADP12/Russound-ADP-1-2-Speaker-le...
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hells Senior Member Posts: 75	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #11 - 06/03/20 at 23:42:19 I have output now Maybe in the future if I switch setups I can look into something like that. Thanks!
Back to top	Omega CAM's \| Rythmik F12SE \| Schiit Gungnir MB \| Torii Jr/25th Anniv \| SE84UFO \| Thorens TD160BC MkII \| Tisbury Mini Passive Preamp II \| Hegel H190 IP Logged

Lin Ex Member	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #12 - 06/03/20 at 23:49:38 Some like to drive the sub amp from the outputs of the speaker amp. With all the gizmos on your sub maybe it would not matter. Passive preamps usually work best with short cables.
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gsanger Verified Member Posts: 35	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #13 - 06/04/20 at 04:20:32 Glad you got it sorted out! I’ve had the Tisbury preamp on my list for a while - mind if I ask what you think of it?
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BillW Verified Member Posts: 20	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #14 - 06/04/20 at 15:18:57 @hells, ditto on what @gsanger asked. Thoughts and impressions of that new preamp in your system?
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hells

Senior Member

Posts: 75

Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage?
Reply #15 - 06/04/20 at 19:56:01

Hey guys, I've had it for a little more than 24 hours now. About 6 hours of listening in that time, so grain of salt Wink

I find it transparent. It added literally nothing to my system, which is exactly what I wanted. My soundstage is great, detail is the same, etc. It did what it said on the tin. I won't lie and say I'm not interested in Tortuga's LDR based one still, but that's a different day (so I keep telling myself Cheesy

)

I can recommend the Tisbury one. It's really nice, feels like British HiFi in looks as well. I like it a lot

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JKC Verified Member Posts: 8	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #16 - 06/06/20 at 20:47:54 I have the Tisbury pre as well and it’s a nice little piece of kit. It’s not in use at the moment but comes in handy sometimes as it’s quite flexible given the toggle switches. Works great as a switchbox or if you need a few more inputs, and I like the option of adding attenuation.
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SShular

Verified Member

Posts: 1

Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage?
Reply #17 - 05/04/22 at 20:01:17

Hey there all. Well I'm still about 6 months away from my SE84UFO2 but already researching how I might set it up.
As I would like more than 2 inputs I could use one of my existing pre-amps (Hafler DH100, Carver C1) but I also don't want to deteriorate the sound any.

The Tisbury Passive Pre has been of interest to me for a long time and maybe now is the time. Now that you've used it for some time what are your thoughts. Do you still find it transparent? Welcome any feedback.
Smiley

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chapsjon Seasoned Member Posts: 186	Re: Passive preamps murdering sound stage? Reply #18 - 05/04/22 at 20:13:40 I have no experience with the Tisbury. If you aren't looking to ride the gain and only want more inputs, you might consider the Decware Switchbox. Hopefully other could provide a comparison, but I have to assume it is Decware approved....
Back to top	LR:Mini Torii+Wright WPP100 phono, CSP2+SE84UFO, Pioneer Exclusive M4, Accuphase E-303,Graham Slee Jazz Club, Technics SL-1200MK3D Grace F-8 & Nagaoka MP-110, Yamaha NS-1000M, KEF Reference 101, Sony SS-5050 BR: SE84C+, ZP1 phono, Decware 945 JVC QL-7 Shure V15 IP Logged