Placette pre amp

Recently, I was in a very similar situation. I was looking for a nice pre amp, but actually ended up buying a Placette passive volume control - which will arrive sometime this week. Before jumping at the Placette, I was doing some extensive research here on Audiogon and especially on the Audio Asylum web site, where you can find a lot of information about what a passive pre amp will do (or better: will NOT do) to your music. In general, passive pre amps require a reasonable output voltage from the source together with low output impedance. The power amp, on the other hand, should have a high input impedance, which seems to be true for most tube amps (OTL amps might be an exeption - not sure, though, someone correct me, if this statement is wrong). So, if you don't run obscenely long interconnects (stay around 1 m), you shouldn't run into any problems with a passive unit. If you want to get the Legends pre, anyway, you can still put a passive volume control (i.e. the Placette) in the signal path and it should do next to nothing to your signal. If you want to go with a high quality passive unit, you can get the Placette passive pre (which has 3 inputs, Placette's remote volume control just has one) or the Audio Synthesis Passion Ultimate (which also comes with an optinal MM/MC phono board). If you want to get a turntable later, you can always get a phono pre amp (you need one, anyway, if your pre amp doesn't have one built-in) and plug it into the passive pre. Good luck.

I can't disagree with anything Pipetman said, but could add that I'm using a DIY passive with OTL amps with no problems. Placette looks very good to me but if you're a DIY type at all, you can make a world-class passive using Shallco switches, Holco resisters (Michael Percy Audio has kits) and good input and output connectors, RCA or (better) XLR, for about 1/3 of a Placette's price. But will it be as detailed and transparent as a CD player with a good digital volume control? In my experience, with an Accuphase DP-75 going into my OTL power amps, definitely not. There's little in a good passive to degrade the signal--but in a refined system even a little degradation can be clearly heard. Bu the way, there's a recent post on passives you might want to look at.

Of course you understand that any signal coming out of your cd player has to be attenuated, whether it be passive, active or digital. The quality of the attenuation is the key.

I use a Placette, because like yourself I like the remote volume control. I like passive preamps because I believe that the less you do to the music signal they better; less is more. Active preamps seem to give the music a "processed" sound (some give the music more life and dynamics than it actually has), the good ones do this much less. This is not always a bad thing, so I keep a tube preamp when I want this effect for certain types of music. The problem with really good active preamps is that they are more expensive than a really good passive preamps or simple resistor controls that you can stick on the back of your amp, as the above post suggests.

I cannot comment on the Accuphase above, but digital attenuation is accomplished by removing information in the signal. So, as the music gets quieter there is less information. If you go this route definitely listen before you buy.

The cd players that you may want to look at with really good built in analog attenuation are: Levinson 39 (might actually have active attenuation), Resolution Audio 50 and 55.

Ultrakaz- re: active attenuation, would not the Audio Aero Capitole have it as well? (mine has analog volume control). Must admit though- I have often wondered if adding a quality passive could benefit things at all...