I use a Placette RVC in series with my CAT SL1. It works very, very well with no degradation I can tell and almost an infinite array of volume levels. Once you get used to this fine control it is hard to go back. For a sinlge source and with the right cable capactance, input sensitivity and input impedance of the amp, you may even prefer the Placette to any active line stage -- it is that good. They offer a 30-day trial, so you can play with it and see if it does the trick. Again, not cheap, but exceptionally good.
Remote volume control for preamp?
I would like to remotely control the volume on a favorite preamp of mine(Audio research). Is there a fairly inexpensive device that can hook up to a preamp so you can use a remote control to adjust the volume? It's seems to me, that this would be a very in demand item, and so they must exist.