In my last all SS system I ran a heavily modded passive McCormack TLC-1 preamp (always on Agon for a grand or less) along with a stock McCormack DNA-500 and it was dead quiet, incredible sound. I like my tubes but that McCormack SS setup sounded damn good.
I used to think passive preamps were superior to active preamps given right the setup, but
my recent evaluation of a modded old SS preamp has me a little befuddled. I've evaluated $10K+ active preamps in the past and was never impressed especially given their cost. In general, I've found passives to do better job. I know there's ongoing debate on this. But here's a very illuminating video on the subject by Bascom King, one of the legends of high end audio.
https://youtu.be/HHl8F9amyY4
https://youtu.be/HHl8F9amyY4