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The Truth Pre Amp Review

manisandher

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AudioSceptic

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Me. Not because I begrudge him the profit, but because I want to understand the product, and the market. Audiophoolery is replete with massive margins on junk. The margin on this pre is low compared to things like quantum purifiers, mpingo disks* or just about any cable.

The device is interesting because there is a lot going on with the marketing and hype, and I suspect there is more that isn't known. There are some curious clues about.

An interesting point is that had the pre been priced lower it probably would not have sold. If it were properly built (which would really only mean taking some additional care, learning how to solder, using proper mains construction, and buying a ruler) it would not attract the attention it has. Selling it for say $400 would have probably meant it sold vastly less well. But we have an incompetently designed and built bit of junk with wobbly hand drawn marker labels attracting buyers. There is an interesting story here.

*Mpingo disks are hilarious. I seems that what was a worthless waste product has been turning into a huge profit maker. Whoever thought of this one deserves the money they made. They built an entire cult out of thin air and probably some dubious relationships with certain magazines.
The mpingo discs are one of my faves too, along with the Peter Belt foils, liquids, etc <https://pwbelectronics.co.uk/product-information>. You're in for a treat if knowledge of these didn't make it down under.
 

AudioSceptic

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I agree completely. I suppose it's easy to say there's a mad-scientist appeal, as if he leaves a trace of soul and genius in every piece. But why would people need that vibe? I'm guessing among the folks who can afford this stuff, probably eight out of ten work in some kind of grinding, soulless corporate job, and this kind of purchase is a middle finger to the precision systems they live every day.
They are buying a piece of art, not science. They think that you need art to reproduce art, not some piece of soulless engineering.
 

Bob from Florida

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Amazing what arm chair engineers will say in a thread. We have ranged from how badly it is engineered to making fun of Ed's last name to say anyone buying this product is stupid. Regardless of how it measures, is built, or looks there is no call for denigration.
 

Mart68

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They are buying a piece of art, not science. They think that you need art to reproduce art, not some piece of soulless engineering.

yes, that's exactly how it is. Added to which if it costs more it's likely 'better', If The Truth was in a flashy case, cost $10K and was produced by a known hi-end brand sales would increase.
 

sergeauckland

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Amazing what arm chair engineers will say in a thread. We have ranged from how badly it is engineered to making fun of Ed's last name to say anyone buying this product is stupid. Regardless of how it measures, is built, or looks there is no call for denigration.
When someone is selling a product which is actually dangerous to use, and has no other possible redeeming features, then ridicule and denigration are perfectly appropriate.

S
 

Bob from Florida

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When someone is selling a product which is actually dangerous to use, and has no other possible redeeming features, then ridicule and denigration are perfectly appropriate.

S
Every page on this forum starts with the below.

WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required as is 20 years of participation in forums (not all true). Come here to have fun, be ready to be teased and not take online life too seriously.

Are you saying "ridicule and denigration" are covered by "teased"?
Since this is a fact based forum - where is the proof that the device is "dangerous to use, and has no other possible redeeming features".
It is possible that you were stating an "opinion"- which still does not excuse uncivilized behavior.
In my opinion - it is best to avoid the personal attacks. Sticking with facts is better. For example - one could say "the measured parameters versus cost do not meet my needs".
I personally would not purchase the "Truth" preamp for use in my system. However, someone else may find value in it and it is not my area to criticize that choice.
 

sergeauckland

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Every page on this forum starts with the below.

WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required as is 20 years of participation in forums (not all true). Come here to have fun, be ready to be teased and not take online life too seriously.

Are you saying "ridicule and denigration" are covered by "teased"?
Since this is a fact based forum - where is the proof that the device is "dangerous to use, and has no other possible redeeming features".
It is possible that you were stating an "opinion"- which still does not excuse uncivilized behavior.
In my opinion - it is best to avoid the personal attacks. Sticking with facts is better. For example - one could say "the measured parameters versus cost do not meet my needs".
I personally would not purchase the "Truth" preamp for use in my system. However, someone else may find value in it and it is not my area to criticize that choice.

Look at the arrangement for lifting the earth. It's potentially lethal!

S.
 

Bob from Florida

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Look at the arrangement for lifting the earth. It's potentially lethal!

S.
It has a ground lift switch - no big deal. Lifting the ground is a quick way to break a ground loop. It is a choice to utilize it - as long as something in the system provides a ground through an interconnect you still have some degree of safety ground. Several things would halve to occur to make it lethal. Any piece of gear with a metal chassis could become lethal with the right set of circumstances.
 

Speedskater

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It has a ground lift switch - no big deal. Lifting the ground is a quick way to break a ground loop. It is a choice to utilize it - as long as something in the system provides a ground through an interconnect you still have some degree of safety ground. Several things would halve to occur to make it lethal. Any piece of gear with a metal chassis could become lethal with the right set of circumstances.
This is totally incorrect and dangerous.
 

solderdude

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It has a ground lift switch - no big deal. Lifting the ground is a quick way to break a ground loop. It is a choice to utilize it - as long as something in the system provides a ground through an interconnect you still have some degree of safety ground. Several things would halve to occur to make it lethal. Any piece of gear with a metal chassis could become lethal with the right set of circumstances.

Lifting ground does not mean disconnecting safety ground from the chassis !!!
It means you disconnect the common/return path from the chassis.

It is done completely incorrect in the shwon picture and when one of the mains wires touches the chassis it is potentially lethal. This is NOT the proper way to apply ground lift.
 

Francis Vaughan

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It is a choice to utilize it - as long as something in the system provides a ground through an interconnect you still have some degree of safety ground. Several things would halve to occur to make it lethal. Any piece of gear with a metal chassis could become lethal with the right set of circumstances.

There are decades of standards built on the back of lives lost to stupid design decisions. There is a saying in engineering that the standards are written in the blood of those killed by poor designs. Safety design standards are not some sort of hand waving. It is a set in stone practice that a you need multiple faults to occur to have a lethal situation. Safety engineers will often use the "Swiss cheese" analogue when talking of accidents. Electrical devices need to provide multiple layers of defence against failure. And the manner in which they are implemented is carefully codified.

The Truth pre quite simply has been built with zero attention to any form of safety. The person constructing it simply has no clue. Phrases like "fault current" come to mind in the lexicon of terms that are just not understood. The build only needs a single failure in construction to become lethal. One. With the appalling construction quality such a failure it is going to be a matter of when not if. If there are hundred devices out there, there is a very good chance one of them will at some point in the next few years have such a failure. From any standpoint that it totally unacceptable. We might hope that there isn't a fatality. If there is you can be sure the victim's family will be lawyering up. In normal engineering practice adherence to accepted standards of safety are what protect you from such things.
 

sergeauckland

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It has a ground lift switch - no big deal. Lifting the ground is a quick way to break a ground loop. It is a choice to utilize it - as long as something in the system provides a ground through an interconnect you still have some degree of safety ground. Several things would halve to occur to make it lethal. Any piece of gear with a metal chassis could become lethal with the right set of circumstances.

Pro equipment, something I've been working with for the past 50 years, has commonly had a ground-lift switch. However, the ground lift NEVER EVER disconnects the safety ground, which remains connected, and only disconnects the connection between the equipment chassis (and hence safety earth) and the audio earth or common. In my view, all metal boxes should be properly grounded at all times. It's all very well for a lot of equipment to be double-insulated and no ground, but I'm wary of equipment that's 40 or 50 years old, and whether the insulation has degraded, or indeed was manufactured to an earlier, less stringent standard. A proper three-core mains cable and three core mains is far safer, but is far from universal.

S.
 

manisandher

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My Truth doesn't have a safety-ground-lift switch, so is totally safe.

You've all seen Amir's measurements. I posted further measurements. I posted audio files with and without the Truth in the siganl path. This would be a great opportunity to discuss how audible these distortions and noise actually are.

Does anyone have a view on this???

Mani.
 

Colin James Wonfor

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Some interesting bit from the product page: "
  • There are no capacitors or resistors (other than the photocell) in the signal path. There is no potentiometer in the signal path.
"
What type of Photo Cell is it Cd based? or Si + based?
 

Bob from Florida

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Well, that got a lot of responses. The kind of ground lift employed in the "Truth" appears to be same thing as employing a "cheater plug" which if used breaks ground loops between components and removes your safety ground at the same time. If - and only if - you have another component in your system that has earth ground tied to signal ground you will get a earth ground through the interconnect. As long as the mains fuse is small it will blow if the current shunts through the interconnect to ground. That is what I meant by some degree of protection. The tone of the responses as to how unsafe the design is are overblown - in my opinion. Could the design be improved - yes it could. I would have gone with a wall wart of some type to avoid 120 volts inside the chassis and to avoid ground loops.
As a side note - having an earth ground connected to the chassis and referenced to a circuit ground has another down side besides hum from ground loops. A nearby lightning strike can enter your home through earth ground and wreak all kinds of havoc with anything with an earth ground.
Now that I think about it all the components currently in my system are all two wire from the factory. Assuming the double insulation does not fail there should be no problems.
 

sergeauckland

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My Truth doesn't have a safety-ground-lift switch, so is totally safe.

You've all seen Amir's measurements. I posted further measurements. I posted audio files with and without the Truth in the siganl path. This would be a great opportunity to discuss how audible these distortions and noise actually are.

Does anyone have a view on this???

Mani.
My view of the distortion and noise is that at the levels measured, it is inaudible. Going back a few years, they would even be considered exemplary! However, the very limited input voltage (600mV) capacity before distortion starts to rise makes it doubtful with any modern source that outputs a typical 2V and even most phono stages will output up to 5V on hot LPs. Crosstalk isn't great, but again unlikely to be audible.

Frankly, it's not the technical performance that bothers me, but the build quality and safety that seem most concerning.

S.
 
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