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| Letters -- January 2004 Pasiphae potential January 20, 2004To Ross Mantle, I have read your comments regarding the AVTAC Pasiphae with great interest as I am in the market for some form of attenuator. I too use dCS equipment, in my case a Purcell/Elgar combination, but find that I use the digital volume control at around -25dB on the 2V output, never mind the better 6V option. As such, I believe an attenuation device will be better in my system. My question refers to the Pasiphae versus a high-quality active preamp. In my (limited) experience, an active line stage gives more body or substance to the sound and often makes the soundstage bigger, particularly in the depth dimension where sounds at the back of the soundstage are better defined and more realistic. In your opinion how does the Pasiphae compare on this type of quality? I suppose what I am really asking is if there any downside to the Pasiphae compared to a top-quality line-stage preamp. Colin Downes The -25dB setting on your Purcell/Elgar combo is way too much according to the user manual and likely to result in a degradation of sound quality due to the loss of resolution caused by digital attenuation. Further, I would agree with you about the superiority of the 6V output setting. In my system this setting sounds significantly better. I'm sure you are still getting excellent sound from your dCS, but I appreciate your desire to maximize the return on your investment. The effects you mention related to passive line stages have been my experience also. However, the increased body related to active line stages also seems to come at the price of detail, transparency, and ultimately accuracy. The prototype Pasiphae I had in my system was certainly more realistic than any line stage I have auditioned in every way. Bass slam and body were also not lacking, although the overall balance of the Sonic Frontiers Line 3, for example, was somewhat darker. It was also muddier. The interaction of the Pasiphae with a system is all about impedance matching, and as such, cannot be predicted with certainty for every system out there. That's the bad news. The good news is that, based on the prototype, the match between my dCS combo and the Pasiphae gives terrific results in my system - better than going direct at 6V. The other good news is that I've recently been contacted by Dave Parry of AVTAC, who tells me he is ready to ship the production model. Apparently, I'm to be on the short list of early recipients, which means a full review will be out shortly. My advice is either wait for the review, or buy one now and try it out for yourself. I'm told Dave has a money-back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied....Ross Mantle Ultra products at CES January 14, 2004 As usual, the SoundStage! Network's CES coverage is terrific. Great-looking pictures too. Thanks! I'm wondering if you'll write about any of the more "ultra" products seen at CES. Bob Prince Yes, you will see coverage of products from Gryphon, Lamm, and likely VTL in 2004.
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