Not ENOUGH GAIN

Agree with Jeffreybehr. I much prefer the volume control past the 12 o'clock position and closer to 2 or 3 o'clock for normal listening. I assume 7 is at the top end of the range. What happens when you move the volume control higher, say all the way to full open?

A pre-amplifier's amplifying section comes after the volume control and is always seen by the amp at its full output (gain).

Very often the case, but I can think of two manufacturers that implement the volume control after the gain section of the preamp and at the output.

Newbee, I can't speak to others designs but in ours we are using transformers at the input to significantly increase voltage gain as the signal is fed from the source component (ex. 2V source output becomes 16V). The 10K potentiometer is placed after the transformers to attenuate the gain to achieve desired listening levels. The output impedance remains fixed and due to this the frequency response does not change as volume is attenuated. Note that the design uses all passive parts. No active gain stage.