Phasemation CM-1500 Hybrid Passive Preamplifier
DESCRIPTION
The CM-1500 brings Phasemation's patented “Control Meister” hybrid passive attenuator technology to a more accessible price point, without abandoning the design that made the CM-2200 a Stereo magazine Best Buy Components #1 finisher. A balanced attenuator transformer — wound with the same 0.1mm super-malloy core and PC-TripleC wire as the flagship — carries both the hot and cold legs of a balanced signal on a single winding, generating a full balanced output even from an unbalanced source.
Three-step gain switching (–10/0/+6dB) combined with the attenuator's 23-position, 0 to –50dB range gives finer volume control across a wider range of amplifier and speaker pairings than a fixed-gain passive design allows. Winner of the Analog Grand Prix 2025.
Key Features:
- Patented hybrid passive attenuator — same technology as flagship CM-2200
- 3-step gain switching: –10dB / 0dB / +6dB, plus 23-position attenuator
- Balanced transformer with 0.1mm super-malloy core, PC-TripleC wire
- Simultaneous balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) outputs
- Gold-plated rotary switches, machined brass RCA terminals
- #1 Best Buy Components (under 1,200,000 JPY), Stereo magazine, 2024; Analog Grand Prix 2025
Specifications:
| Type | Hybrid Passive Pre-Amplifier |
| Input Impedance | 47kΩ+ |
| Channel Separation | 100dB+ (20Hz–20kHz) |
| Frequency Response | 10Hz–100kHz (+0/–3dB) |
| Output Impedance | ≤250Ω |
| Inputs | RCA x3, XLR x2 |
| Outputs | RCA x2, XLR x2 |
| Dimensions | 430x93x362mm |
| Weight | 6.5kg |
