Lehmann Rhinelander.

[Phil Y]

I have recently got the above headphone amp for late night listening. It has the facility to work as an active pre as it has (if internally set) a line out. I put it into my system fed from my passive pre which I have bypassed the volume control in so it is now just a selector switch. I have been taken aback at how much improvement an active pre can make. I have been using a passive for years as I don't have super long interconnects and assumed there would be little to gain going active. How wrong I was!
The biggest difference is on vinyl but I think CD sounds a little better as well.

As it is now a discontinued model I got it at a discounted price as well so i'm a happy chap.

Phil.


PS. It sounds nice on headphones as well.

[bob orbell]

You should try the new Pre III CF from Matthew, to put it in simple terms, it just works. Bob

[TimN]

Don't suppose you could explain the difference between a CF and the full fat version for a newbie please, Bob? Is it the amount of output gain? Tim

[bob orbell]

Well Tim, the World Designs web page would be a starting point. CF means Cathode Follower, this is a very simple circuit and comes in a few flavours, there is Fixed bias, Cathode bias, CF with active load, White CF, and even U follower, the WD CF can be configured for Cathode bias or with an active load by Transistors ( mine is biased with another valve ) all have a gain of around 0.9, this means less than what the source is producing. The CF has a very high input impedance and a very low output impedance, while none have any voltage gain, they all have current gain, this gives the sound a bit of extra weight. The full fat, as you so put it has a lot of gain and and while most Power amps only need about .5 volt for max power it seams a waist so the CF or passive wins for a lot of folk. It is up to you to decide which one works best for you. I have had all three, Passive, Full fat, CF and CF with active load, the latter works for me and many others. Bob

[TimN]

Thank you.

[Mark]

Phil,

Which/what headphones are you using ?

Mark

[Phil Y]

Hello Mark,

Nothing fancy, just Beyer DT880s, 250 ohm version.
I far prefer listening through my speakers, old Tannoy Cheviots, but living in a small semi-detached and wishing to stay friends with my neighbors, headphones it is later in the evening.

Phil.