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?
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Showing 1 response by jeff_jones

I think the previous response has it nailed.
One option though, when faced with the same question I picked up the channel island $250 list passive and gave it a try. If you don't like it you shouldn't lose much on resale. I found it a quality component and playing with it was a good learning experience.
FWIW, my system ended up in the 'mostly sounds better but lost dynamics' catagory and I went looking for an active that otherwise sounded like a passive.
Good luck! (And no I ain't in cahoots with Channel Island.)