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With these setups, the Reference Pre did not even make it to unity gain let alone added gain. To have the Reference do what its faceplate says—be an amplifier—we lowered the output of the Phasure NOS1 DAC to -64dB which equates to whisper mode on the ultra-efficient Pnoe horns. Now we yanked the Trafomatic volume up to hit the desired 85dB in the listening seat. Here the stepless volume pot was turned well past 2 o’clock. The aural results were the same as with the preamp in deep attenuation role. There was no added noise whilst transparency and speed were on par with the previous test including the virtual seating relative to stage distance. Yet now we had actively tapped into the 15dB of triode gain.
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As we had on hand the Avantgarde XA preamplifier and XA power amplifier, we took the opportunity to briefly compare the battery-powered XA-Pre—at 2.5 times the price and 4 times the weight—to the Reference One in the above setup albeit run fully balanced. We perceived the same few-rows-back virtual seat perspective of the Reference One though with a twist. That twist was that the seating itself had become plusher, similar to what a good NOS 6SN7 does to the sound.
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The final setup was a combination of PWT/PWD for legacy CD, Reference Phono One with Feickert Blackbird for analog and unattenuated XXHighEnd/NOS1 for streaming. Here it was possible to play the same music from vinyl, CD and as a ripped file and switch, then use the remote to adjust volume. For small volume changes Trafomatic's wand buttons need to be tapped briefly because a slightly longer press changes the volume in firmer steps.
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For the Reference One preamp it was all the same no matter what source was used. For the listener it was different. It was very clear that ripped CDs converted by XXHighEnd to 32 bits at 705.600Hz was very close in speed, transparency and more particularly life to vinyl.
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In all our component configurations the Trafomatic Reference One preamplifier remained in the background like the perfectly discrete British butler. We only managed to tap its active gain in one single setup and that was rather forced for curiosity's sake and not realistic. More realistic and valid in 99% of all circumstances where a preamplifier is needed, attenuation was the only mode employed, not active gain (though attenuation of course 'includes' gain as Sasa's circuit doesn't shift from passive to active mode). We found the Reference One easy to match and absolutely quiet in all combinations we tried, including very trying speakers like 107dB noise-tracking hornspeakers. Well built and perfectly calibrated, the stock tubes produced no reason to suggest any tube rolling. Straight from the box, the sound—if indeed there was any self sound as we thought the design exceptionally transparent—was just right!
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Condition of component received: Excellent.
Reusability of packing: Many times over.
Website comments:. Overall the website is clean, informative and in English.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect. Included everything necessary.
Pricing: Absolutely fair for the design, used parts used and built quality.
Human interactions: Outstanding.
Additional remarks: For those not fond of paint finishes, Trafomatic recently introduced a wood-clad version of the Reference One series.
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