phenomenal soundstage; clarity; accuracy

lacks romantic warmth/envelopment of certain tube preamps

I hope no one reads this and then decides to buy this preamp. I've talked to dealers who have said that they cannot sell an item until it receives a favorable review in one of the major mags. What a shame. At most, a review should point out possible candidates for purchase. That is why it is a pity that products such as the placette preamplifier are not reviewed because they are not widely available. Why review the stuff anyone can go and hear for themselves and not the stuff that is hard to find? The placette is only available by direct purchase and 30-day trial. If you are looking for a remote controlled preamplifier, it is worth sending away for this unit.

Although the placette preamplifier does not actually amplify line level signals, unlike passive preamplifiers I have tried in the past which tend to enervate every signal which passes through them, the placette preserves the drive and impact of rhythmic, dynamic music. It must be the buffers. Its hard to describe the "character" of this preamplifier since it changes with each selected recording. This suggests that it is accurately reproducing what is in the recording instead of imparting its own quality on the signal. While their were times I wished the music had more of the kind of warmth and seeming "in the room" presence of tube preamplifiers, such as the Cary, I am guessing that this is actually a coloration since the Cary has this quality with whatever is passed through it. Besides, the placette achieves that quality of spectral presence of musicians by creating solid, stable images, that seem to be anchored in a definite place on a deep soundstage.

I terms of ease of use, the remote control handles switching of all inputs. The volume attenuators has something like 126 discrete steps. However, in my set-up, the lowest level is somewhat louder than I would prefer, and the steps in the lower volume range could be closer together. Using a Linn Linto phono preamplifier and a Lyra mc cartridge, I could not get enough gain from the built-in headphone amplifier to play my grado HP-1 headphones at anything approaching the threshold of pain; with CDs, the gain is sufficient.

Very highly recommended. Should be auditioned.

Similar Products Used:

BAT-VK5i; BAT VK30; Cary PL98; Krell KRC; Coda FET-01

Well to start off if you are really serious about music and not so much concerned about home theater, Then this is the preamp to listen to. I as an audiophile am so sick of dealers who have know way of lending out a demo or just dont want to lend it out, Or even maybe bringing it to your home for audition and except you to buy it, you maybe lucky by taking a shot buying it and reading reviews depends on all the other things that go along with the politics of rag sheets And reviewers not knowing what there doing or dont have the real time to break things in or swap units cause there prest for time. The thing is if you can't get a hold of units that aren't local is to ask a company to give your phone number to a previous owner to hear his opinion. The good thing about Placette is you have a 30 day return so theres your shot to match it up against anything in the price range of five grand and higher. I had preamps that cost alot more and this preamp seems to fool people into amazement of how dynamic this preamp is for a passive pre. And theres not a passive preamp out there that has this characteristic. I been involved in this hobby for years since I was ten years old and Im thirty four years old now and still learnig, We learn in life as we get older and it never stops. This preamp is great and has dynamics as if it were a acttive preamp with out the over done bass and noise involved. If your amp has a less sensitive input Placette could match it up to your amps specs with now problem. I can say when I heard this preamp with out it being burnt in it still seem to be as more open than any other preamp I heard. Very quick clean and takes some time to break in so take your time not to judge to quick, thats if you can detect anything of it. Its very accurate I don't know if its the most accurate but what I heard up against and had, it seems to get out of the way. The products I had I will list a few cause I,ll be her all day lol. Krell Plinius SIM Naim Mc Cormack Audioresearch CJ Rotel Parasound Nad Crown Macro Virtual mode Magnum SonicFrontiers Bryston YBA Audiorefinement MSB.ok. If anyone wants to know more of this product you can call me 718 449 1074 I can give my peace of mind.

For a person who just wants a great product with out the added inputs or bells lights etc. Just try before you bye and good luck searching,The search maybe over sooner than you think.

See Previous Review

See Previous Review

Oops! I made a $6300 typo towards the end of my lengthy
review immediately below. I said that the Placette Passive
out performed pre amps costing more than "$700"
auditioned in my system. That should have read "$7,000".
I specifically had in mind the Arye K-1, which sounded
very good, but at times was a bit too defined, which took
away from the music. But I must also say that the Arye
has the best sounding phono stage, by far, that I have
ever heard. Of course, The Placette Passive does not have
a have a phono stage. I use the Music Reference RM 4+
(see my separate review of the Music Reference)which
works wonderfully with the Placette.

But as a line stage the Arye, as are most active pres, are at a distinct disadvantage when compared with the Placette
Passive pre. Designers of active pre amps have to devote
a lot of resources simply to overcome or negate the effects
of the components own circuitry. How often have you seen
ads for high end pre amps which speak to their expensive
power regulators, reduced negative feedback schemes, selective simplified circuits, noise reduction designs etc., all to get the pre amp out of the way of itself and closer to the music. True, some do a wonderful job of minimizing their imposition on the music, but at a tremendous dollar cost.

Point is, that if your system lends itself to a passive pre (see the easily met requirements I detail in my previous review) then you should seriously consider one. And in my experience there is none better that I have heard (active or passive) than the Placette Passive.

Robert C. Lang

Similar Products Used:

One of a Kind

Transparency, dynamics and high resolution

none so far

This passive pre-amp with a remote is a steal. I used Adcom GFP750, McCormak TLC deluxe, Audible Illusion L1, NEW P3, but nothing was close. Since I purchsed a SONY SCD777ES, I immediately realized the GFP750 and L1's weakness, lack of ultimate transparency because of SACD's high resolution, dynamics and amazing treble sound. Through this Placete pre, treble, midrange, bass, dynamics, soundstage width or depth are all well passed to power amps without any hint of distortion. I feel so lucky not to spend thousands of money to get this good sound. Highly recommend.

My system: SONY SCD777ES-Placet passive-Aronov 960(mid, bass) & Rougue 88 (treble) tube powers-Merlin TSM & Rell Strata III, Cables: JPS Ultra Conductor interconnects and Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cables (bi-amp system)
I am getting PS Audio P600.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFP750, McCormak TLC

Transparent

Remote not so great

I was using the Creek passive preamp and decided to try the Placette under the 30-day trial. It did not take me 30 seconds to decide I was going to stay with the Placette. It removed a veil from the sound. I started to listen more to music after I got the Placette. It is very transparent and, to my knowledge, does not roll off the bass or the highs. I consider it the best value for money I got since I began buying audio gear, about 20 years ago.

I also had some EVS attenuators a while ago. They had very good sound, and connected directly to the amps, which is theoretically good (eliminates one pair of interconnects). The problem was they were always hanging loose, and changing the volume caused horrendous noises as they wiggled in their sockets. One of them broke down after a while. I am not aware if EVS has passive preamps at this point. If they do, they would be worthwhile checking too.

Equipment
Perpetual Technologies P-1 and P-3
VTL 300 amps
Martin Logan Aerius
Wireworld Oasis and Straightwire Maestro interconnects
Tara Labs Speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Creek, EVS

Transparent sound and imaging.

Sony remote

Outstanding product, this is the end of a long search for a "preamp" that I can live with and that doesn't have sonic quirks and colorations. Pro-style rackmount chassis and simple looks may not be for everyone but if you want pure, clean, open, detailed and smooth sound, this is the piece for you. My system has more bass and a deeper and wider soundstage than it ever has before using above mentioned preamps. This unit doesn't impart any sonic anomalies to the sound and it has amazing imaging. If you want to change volume and sources but don't want to change the sound of your other components this is it.

Similar Products Used:

Musical Fidelity A3cr/Krell KRC-3/ML 380/CJ PV14/Rotel RC-995/Linn Kollektor

Very good transparency and balance. Reveals just about everything.

Shows up any weakness of other components. Build quality should have better designed chassis. Sony remote control is very weak and not of Audiophile quality. Audible "clicking" when adjusting volume. No easy way of adjusting volume on unit itself.

Rate this an "B" for sonics but a "D-" for quality. I would rather have the "EVS" attentuators on the amp inputs to adjust gain.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to mention...

I am delighted to say that I am one of the few who have had the opportunity to come across this preamp. From what I understand, the Placete I have is a passive/buffered preamp with 50 Vishay resistors, which is unheard of in the industry because of its costs. One of the most salient characteristics I first noticed about the Placete is that it has a sweetness that is unparallelled. The notes and voices are so musical and transparent that it seems lifelike--depending on which components compliment the Placete--compared to my previous preamps which include the ARC LS-7, Krell KSL, and Audible Illusions L1. Before purchasing the Placete, I preferred the Audible Illusions(AI) to the Krell because the Krell seemed a bit bright and lacked musicality, for which the AI made up. But when I a/b(ed) the Placete to the AI, I was overwhelmed. The Placete clearly was more transparent and produced better imaging; the notes were crisper, the strings--especially the bass-- was clearly more defined and tighter, thereby producing a much overall sweetness. The only thing I found to have beaten the Placete is running my CD player (something I won't reveal because it's the best kept secret my audiophile friends and I have found for $129, which beat my $6000 DAC/transport combo) straight through to the amp, thereby eliminating a preamp--passive or active--altogether. Everyone knows that this is absolutely the purest way of reproducing music, and so it didn't surprise me that it edged out my comparison with the Placete.
I was lucky enough to buy the Placete, a remote controlled unit with phono inputs, for only $2000; with that in mind, I can confidently say that without a doubt, the remote-controlled Placete is absolutely the best preamp in the world for that price range. In fact, I will put it up against *any* preamp on the market, including the ARC Reference 1, which I heard someone returned for the Placete, and the Krell KRC 3, or some other high-end contenders. My components that complement the Placete consist of the following which are all connected to the Tice Infinite Speed power cord running through the Tice Power Block III line conditioner:

BEL 1001 MK IIIA monoblocks;
Audio Artistry Vivaldis and, on occasion, Martin Logan Quest Z's;
SF SFD2 MK 1 DAC and Micromega Stage III transport;
and my $129 low output CD/player, which I will not reveal.

If you're in the market for a preamp, I guarantee you that you will not find a better deal than the Placete. In no way am I affiliated with the company; I just want to tell others about it because I am so amazed at what it has done for my system; thus I feel obligated to promulgate this piece. Good listening to all!!

I too, own a Placete passive with remote.I'll get right to the point! I've been a hi-end audio hobbyist for 20 years and I've been through alot of great Tube and Solid-state Pre-amps and linestages. The Placete is the most neutral, transparent, dynamic, tonally accurate, harmonically correct, musically gestaldt pre-amp that I've ever heard.Period!!!!! Be forewarned-once you hear it your hooked! (I also am in no way affiliated with Placete Audio)

I have listened to this pre-amp and it sounds wonderful. It sounds as clear and transparent as any pre-amp I have heard to date. This is a serious bargain for the sound. This product beats all other passive's hands down. My problems with the unit are that: I did not like the Sony universal remote control, build quality (not a solid chassis like many designers) and lack of volume knobs (Giles/Penny fan). I rate the unit five stars for sound, but three stars for build quality. Overall rating is 4 stars.