LDR3000x.V3 High Performance Preamp

Price: $1,495 (base, 9 configurations)

This is a legacy product and is no longer produced or sold by Tortuga Audio.

The LDR3000x.V3 line was discontinued as of July 2022 as part of a shift in company strategy toward core LDR attenuation technology for the DIY community and other OEMs, rather than a wide finished-preamp lineup.

The LDR3000x.V3 is a flexible high performance, remote controlled LDR preamp available in 9 different configurations: passive, active solid state, or active tube — each orderable as single-ended only (3 in / 2 out, RCA), balanced only (3 in / 2 out, XLR), or mixed RCA/XLR (6 in / 4 out). Each configuration is remote controlled (Apple remote) or controlled from the front panel (rotary encoder), with a high contrast, white-on-black, interactive menu-driven OLED display.

Flexible preamp platform

The LDR3000x.V3 is built around the ePot.V3 Max electronic stepped attenuator & preamp controller, in an enclosure of anodized and powder-coated aluminum and sustainable bamboo.

The platform can be configured as passive or active; active can be solid state or tube-based. Regardless of preamp type, signals can be single-ended RCA only, balanced XLR only, or a combination of both (the combined-signal version uses a wider enclosure, same height/depth). All outputs are dual/parallel, convenient for bi-amping or driving a separate subwoofer amp.

Nine preamp configurations

All nine configurations start with the V3 Max attenuator/controller in a common enclosure; different modules and rear panel assemblies distinguish them, and since the configurations are largely modular, switching between them later isn’t too difficult.

Configuration	Preamp type	Signal type	Base price
1	Passive	Single-ended — 3 RCA in, 2 out	$1,495
2	Passive	Balanced — 3 XLR in, 2 out	$1,795
3	Passive	Mixed RCA & XLR — 3 in/2 out each	$2,295
4	Active, solid state	Single-ended — 3 RCA in, 2 out	$1,795
5	Active, solid state	Balanced — 3 XLR in, 2 out	$2,295
6	Active, solid state	Mixed RCA & XLR — 3 in/2 out each	$2,795
7	Active, tube	Single-ended — 3 RCA in, 2 out	$2,295
8	Active, tube	Balanced — 3 XLR in, 2 out	$2,795
9	Active, tube	Mixed RCA & XLR — 3 in/2 out each	$3,295

ePot.V3 Max electronic stepped attenuator & controller

The heart of the LDR3000x is the ePot.V3 Max. Features include:

100-step attenuator over a 60 dB range
Smooth volume stepping with no sonic artifacts
No mechanical switches in the signal path
Menu-driven visual control with a high-contrast 256x64 OLED display
LDR attenuation with precision closed-loop current control, integrated offline self-calibration, and a replaceable plug-in LDR module
Integrated input switching (3 single-ended stereo sources) via LDR switches
Remote controlled (Apple infrared remote), with manual control via rotary encoder
Smooth muting/unmuting; left/right channel balance (+/- 10 dB)
Updateable firmware