How much do I need to spend to get a preamp that sounds better than no preamp?

Aside from some technical points made throughout this thread which I find educational, I think the overall conclusions drawn are based on an assessment ultimately made by the listeners’s ears which are subjective by definition. There’s also an an additional degree of confusion since the two different scenarios of source direct to amp and using a passive preamp in between the two seem to be used interchangeably.  It would be more useful to just take a poll and tally the results. And I’m willing to bet my last dollar that most people including me will prefer an active linestage between the source and the amp vs. going direct from the source.

“The result of trolling is that someone has to correct your misrepresentation- and then we go on and on, around and around. That's classic trolling.”

george, you’re clearly a knowledgeable person and have a lot to contribute and can obviouly say whatever you want but this sort of behavior tends to damage your credibility, if you actually care. You accuse others with a vast technical experience in the field for expressing their opinion for personal gains and one could argue the same for your opinion and your passive attenuators. Not a productive approach to exchange knowledge. And no, I’m not stalking you, just seem to keep running into the same thread and reading the same arguments.

george, you just proved Ralph's point with help from Nelson. Noise is audible. The rest of your post is BS pushing your product.