Passive preamp vs. powered

An active preamp also takes all the thought out of matching sources & amps. It's the softer easier path.

As Elizabeth said, ya gotta pay attention with a passive pre and selecting sources is more important a thing.

here's the deal, unless you've joined the 'flavor of the month' club, and you like what you're getting, keep doing what you are doing.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains, you know, that little voice which says "Hey man, You need get another ...."

But that said... Quality is quality and always speaks for itself. Passive or active doesn't matter.

If you're looking to step up the performance level of your preamp, that's horse of a different color. But one design over another... passive vs. active... Well, I think that's a push and all you wind up with very often there is simply 'different'. One or the other is not preventing you from hearing everything you can hear from your source simply by their methodologies.

Rather than going from pass to active, go up a few levels in the same sandbox might be better.

I am with Elizabeth. I run an Adcom GFP 750 (blue board model) and can select either active or passive, so you can have the best of both worlds. I have tried running a DAC direct with no preamp, one elite preamp that cost much more than the 750, and the 750 in passive and active mode in my system, and the best synergy results from the active GFP. It really makes my system sing in a way the other configurations don't--for me at least, and that's what this hobby is all about. Of course, now I am thinking of trying a tube pre to see what that might do in the system.........enjoy the music!

If you are happy with the sound, that is all that is important. The one thing I have noticed, is that many, if not all folks that have tried the passive route (I have used Placette, K&K SB102, Bent Tap)seem to go back to actives, especially to tube preamps.

I have owned, built, and heard many passive preamps, and they all shared the advantage of clarity at the expense of dynamics. You pays your money......

If the designer of the preamp line stage has done his homework, that preamp will sound better than any passive made. Passives cannot control the interconnect cable and that is one thing that a good line section **can** do (although not all preamp designers realize that what I just said is possible, so you will see a lot of variance as a result).

You may have noticed that as you turn down the volume of your passive, there is a loss of bass and punch. Any preamp made will prevent **that** although with most you will still have to be careful about the interconnect cable. A good preamp design will free you of even the choice of cable and its length!