active or passive preamp for active speakers

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Can you solder? You can build a passive preamp for about $10-20 worth of parts from Radio Shack.

Google "passive preamp diy" for info.

Build a cheap one and if it meets your needs you can obsess about buying expensive parts for your next one.

Pay no attention to the naysayers. Passives ARE ideal for some systems. ALL volume controls are passive so if it suits the criteria as Almarg laid out it may be all you need.

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thanks again for the responses.

almarg, i really appreciate your detailed reply. based on your reply i think it's safest to go with a non-passive preamp, especially if i want to use it in a different system down the line.

now over to the preamp 'for sale' section...

I'm in the same boat. I have a pair of active Dynaudio BM5a monitors that I use for Home Audio. I've tried several active pres it seems to affect the signal in a negative way (less clear, thinner, hazy). Using a Digital Link III balanced straight into the Dyns is magic, now just to get the same thing with my analog signals with some volume control (Phono and Analog out SACD) into the Dyns. Im thinking of using a Passive Pre on those two channels. I just need to control the volume and be transparent. No gain needed. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome....

Theron

Pick the lowest hanging fruit first...

Passives are pretty cheap and if your system likes it, almost unbeatable.

IME, it is extremely difficult to find a transparent active preamp, I have tried a lot and they all add to the sound too much, or take too much away from the music.

If you want to go active be prepared to spend a lot of money to get a transparent design.

A couple of suggestions: I have a B1 active no gain preamp from First watt, I cannot tell the difference with a passive preamp, which says a lot! No gain, but high output impedance so it turns out it has less drive than a passive...

Placette Active and passives are great.

The Best active preamps I have listened to are The Essential, and the top of the line Metaxas preamp. Amazing both of them and they clearly beat a passive in most ways, including transparency.

While for my taste a passive like the Lightspeed Attenuator (I have tried many others) is better than any active, as Al says it has to be in the right system. It seems that you system may not be ideal, not only because of cable lenghts, but I suspect the SS amp in your speakers are low input impedance. I also think that passives work better with tube amps in general in terms of impedance and sonic character. As you point out, you will certainly have more flexibility using an active preamp - with you current equipment and down the road.