Pass XP30 preamp makes no difference (from dagogo) ? Wow! (active vs passive vs no preamp)

As a fellow Dagogo.com reviewer, a few comments. If I understand correctly, the comparison was between using the Pass preamp's attenuator vs. the Bricasti attenuator. If so, this was one very limited comparison, and should not be seen as any kind of holistic assessment of the Pass preamp. He did not seem to comment at all on the majority of sound parameters associated with both pieces, only the resolution at low level. Imo, it would be erroneous to conclude that a judgment was being made in regard to one being holistically superior to the other. 

trudat,
If a dedicated DAC, not an integrated DAC( like the Bricasti, with a preamp output) is compared to having a preamp, then it would be expected that the insertion of the preamp would be superior, chiefly due to the lower output of the DAC not driving the amp well. Now, if this was a comparison of integrated DACs with preamp function direct to amp, that is an entirely different story. In nearly all cases of dedicated DAC to amp, the insertion of preamp is beneficial, no surprise there. I find, however, that I can build integrated DAC to amp systems that can perform superior to a given set of dedicated DAC/pre/amp. 

IOW, it makes a BIG difference whether the DACs used in your comparison were dedicated or integrated. The results would change significantly based on that variable. Frankly, in recent years I am building more integrated DAC to amp, OR dedicated DAC to integrated amp systems and having superb results. 

Finally, the amp makes as much difference as the pre and DAC. Pick the wrong amp and it pretty well doesn't matter what else you're doing, you're killing the sound quality. 

@douglas_schroeder thanks for the clarification! That makes a lot of sense. I was shocked when a friend first showed me this and  clearly I misinterpreted it.

You can go the passive route but only with digital but you will lose dynamics if you go with a good full function preamp or preamp with phono stage you will be able to get the amplifier to sing at any volume level with any source but finding the right preamp can be a difficult one but it is worth the effort in  the long run.

@douglas_schroeder 

Yes.  That’s why I was using one of each as far as DACs go.  

But, I certainly appreciate I’m not the smartest audiophile in the room.

Just reporting what my ears heard.  Recognizing that I’m just a humble audio nerd.  Not a “professional reviewer”.

Though I have a dedicated, treated room and have owned quite a bit of gear since the 1980s...

The Terminator has a fairly high output impedance (I also have one). I would not recommend using a passive preamp since you'd have to use one with a fairly high impedance to avoid putting to much load on the DACs outputs. Then you're be driving your power amp with a very high impedance source.