consensus on passive preamps?

OOOPS!...made a mistake on my last comment.
I meant to say that most people will find "active" gain preamps a better choise in the majority of circumstances, not passive units!

I've just got my dealer pissed auditioning TACT RCS2 in my current setup.
I've got back to McCormack Line Drive in passive mode.
I feel I'll never go active again.

I have both a passive and active (in 2 different systems in the house). Passive can be very very good, but it does require more effort in component matching. You can get very poor results with passive when components are not selected carefully. Also, cables and long interconnects, as mentioned can create problems seldom seen in active pre-amps. Lastly, passives rarely have the ergonomics and features of actives--due to their necessary simplified circuitry. This can be fine for certain applications, but really doesn't work for others. In the end--the final verdict--both can work well. Passive can provide better sonic value for the same (and much less $), but with the caveats mentioned.

Thanks alot for the thoughtful and enlightening responses.
For the price I'm paying the experiment should be fun.
The DAC which will be providing the output voltage can be tune up to provide 5v of output power. (Normal is 2.5v)

Of course it's really not a preamp if it is passive.