Pass B1 Buffer Preamp Build:

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


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pics of my finished B1 Preamp, all wired up and ready for an audition. The source is a Rega Jupiter CDP.

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.


IMG_4272 by hydrovac, on Flickr


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