I use an EVS ultimate passive attenuator. To start, you should know that they mount on the back of your power amp and to change volume, you have to reach behind to set the volume. The advantage to this is that you can eliminate one set of interconnects to the preamp and the interconnect from your cd player is carrying the full(2-7) volt output of the cd player, which makes for a more efficient signal transfer. The build quality is excellent, this shunt attenuator has been copied by many high-end preamps. I was previously using a presence audio linestage, which was excellent in its own right, but the evs product was clearly more transparent, extended and quiet, there is a wonderful ease and dynamic range. For $250, this product just makes sense. One caveat is that you will be hearing your cd player's faults which may lead to upgradeitis.
