Ladder Chopin review - Great and Big sound

Ladder Chopin preamplifier review.
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00:00 About Chopin
02:30 Pairing
04:16 Sound
10:30 vs Ladder Bach
15:30 vs Laiv Harmony HP2A
18:01 vs my reference preamp
19:10 Conclusion

Test setup
Streamer:
DACs:
Preamps:
Amps:
Speakers:

Head-Fi test setup:

#hifi #audiophile #preamplifier #stereo

[michaelschulz]

I thank you for your ability to describe sound. I find your descriptions are so compelling that you earned my respect and my subscription to your YouTube channel. Again, thank you so much.

[Highdbs]

I am an almost 15yr old learning to be audiophile and afraid that all the detail is as yet lost on me. I am impressed by your reviews and watch them all. Thank you!

[TorToroPorco]

A great description of what a good preamplifier can do in a signal chain @19:27

[fletchermunson]

Thank You. Comprehensive and insightful review. Personally I like it when my volume knob talks to me as long as the separations are sufficiently spaced to allow fine volume tuning. Got tired of my Freya breaking. Those holes around the tube input came in handy to let the smoke out.

[spektrograf]

Srboljub, I just wanted to drop a line to thank you VERY much for a very detailed review of the Ladder Chopin. This video was instrumental towards my purchase of a Chopin—especially, considering it's the ONLY review of substance that exists on the internet as of May 2025. The Chopin turned out to be exactly what I was looking for—a solid state preamp that is largely transparent with a touch of warmth that It's been so absolutely enjoyable! I felt a great sense of relief when I got it in my system and it broke in after some use to have it align to your description, as it was bit of a gamble whether it would suits what I was looking for.

I had gone on the hunt to find a solid state preamp to run as an alternative to my tube preamp that runs a complement of NOS tubes that have gotten stratospheric in cost and has become very hard to find—especially in matching sets. I wanted this alternative to play music when music is meant for background listening, saving the tube preamp for active listening. Also, I've found extremely high fidelity and dynamic sound reproduction isn't conducive to chatting with people, and at times was distracting. However, I didn't want to substantially compromise my own enjoyment of playback.

The Chopin is exactly as you've described it and it completely fits my needs. The only additional detail I'd add is—in my system and room—sub-bass under 100 Hz is not materially there. At least, it's not there compared to my tube preamp. Out of the box, there was an overt midbass accentuation and treble glare/grain that had me almost pack it back up to return. Both of those negative characteristics went away just after 3 nights of listening and the preamp has settled into more or less what you describe. The last observation of note is that this is the only piece of hifi/head-fi gear I've ever owned where it has a little glare on startup when cold and after it warms up, it goes away to settle into a very enjoyable state.

I've been watching you for a few years now, and it's been great to see your evolution! It's clear you put a lot of work into choosing precise words that describe your experience and observations—and not even in your native language! I am nowhere near your capability in my secondary languages. Thank you for what you do from someone who really appreciates the great effort you take to put out thoughtful content! 🙏

[davidtapogna]

Thanks for your thorough and thoughtful reviews. Your reviews supply a lot of technical info, in an easy-to-understand way. I appreciate how you describe the SQ in great detail. I will order the Ladder Bach because of budget, however. Thanks.

[phantomplastics]

I spent years trying to skip the preamp and go direct but even with really good gear the sound was always lacking in tonality. Now I use the Modwright tube bridge and it sounds great.

[contemporaryartist]

Excellent descriptions! A separate high quality tube preamplifier transformed my already very good system. Spend as much on a preamplifier as you can - second hand is great value as they don’t work that hard. Thank you!

[ganjin]

I felt that it was a smaller version of the Denafrips AThena that my friend owns. I agree with iiWi, and in comparing the sound quality of DACs using external and internal preamps, the sound stage is overwhelming when using an external preamp. Thank you for your accurate and informative videos. Love from japan

[stevezeidman]

First off, great review as usual. You always provide in depth analysis for the products you review. I have the Schumann dac. I have a problem with this company due to its lack of operational detail for their units. No user manual and what I could find for the Schumann is incomprehensible. I had to resort to getting the Denafrips manual to figure out how to use it. I also have had issues using NOS mode and no firmware upgrades for fixes. For these reasons, I can’t buy from them again.

[joaquinbarreto]

So happy and excited to see this! I saw it online and was hoping you’d get your hands on it. Did t even think you knew about it!

[azar]

Bought the Bach based on your recommendation and happy with it a minor issue is with the remote which is directional and has to be pointed downward, also there is a misspelling of filter which is spelled “ fillter “ !

[Navarre-ij]

I love the vintage look of this! Loudly clicking volume knob, circa 1976 display, 3 inputs. Really takes me back to the old days.

[SignorZucchini]

Nice review. I love my Bach! Do you think the Bach and Chopin might be clones or rebadged Denafrips Hestia and Hades preamps? They look very similar and share similar specs, the only difference is the knob shape. Photos of the inside seem to show a similar layout too.

[RobWhittlestone]

Dear Srboljub - that was a really great review! Wow! Thank you! i am struck by the similarities in the chassis display and behaviour to my Chinese John Curl JC-2 clone from AliExpress which I love. It also has pure Class A operation (I don't know whether they are FETs or not) it also has a small number (4) of input channels but does exhibit voltage gain, as I understand. It also has a resistor ladder for volume control - each step being 0.5 dB. A long press on the input knob puts it in standby mode. A long press on the volume knob puts it in settings mode. On power-on there is a 3-second delay. It also has a refind linear power supply and very solid chassis build quality.
Have you seen the reviews from Tom (Hi Fi Zone channel) and Greg (Virtual Hi Fi channel) both from Poland? They do reviews of AliExpress Chi-Fi items and based on Tom's reviews I bought the JC-2 clone preamp (about 350 Euro) and the Dartzeel NHB 108 clone (Transaudio D5 Pro) power amp (about 450 Euro). I am very happy with both. They may not be quite as good as the originals but the combination is much better than my old Exposure pre/power combination which cost 1600 GBP 38 years ago.
Again, thanks for your hard work and your exquisite English in the sound descriptions! All the best, my friend, Rob in Switzerland

[howardmims]

I have a ladder bach and very happy with it, Does not color the sound and only winds and deepens to sound stage. 😊

[carminedesanto]

Nice!
I wonder 🤔if an integrated amplifier with the same layout (like the KINKI) is in the future 😊

[wilsnbg]

One of the best audio reviews I've ever seen. I have a question do you use streaming services? And if so which ones, I couldn't find a video on the subject. Greetings!

[banetrstenik]

01:29 old school forever, no mistake with that. Bravo.

[Highdbs]

Perfect quality and well capable multi featured fosi p4 preamp w 4v output and remote for just W remote. Try it and return if not satisfied.