Electroid, it is precisely because most cd players are capable of driving amplifiers to full output that the Placette Passive was made. Unless it was simply a typo, I'm wondering why you think that most CDPs are not "qualified for passive". There's a reason why Placette decided to put in finer volume steps in the lower volume ranges. In most systems and sources, the Placette passive has more than enough gain.
Passive/Active preamps: pros and cons....
New to preamps...what are the advantages/disadvantages of passive or active designs? I will be only connecting one source (CD) to the pre...any thoughts? passive/active switch like the highly reviewed Adcom piece? any others come to mind? Also...in an active design...how much emphasis does the pre have in regard to the main amp signal?