Why I enjoy my Luminous Audio passive unit, vs an additional gain stage ( preamp )

This topic of preamp / passive, has been discussed, ad nauseum. So why am I posting this ?, you ask. Why not, as it is still be discussed heavily here, and elsewhere. This is a short story ( lol ), but a quick read, so be patient, and thank you, in advance, for reading. In the early eighties ( I am thinking ’84 ), PS Audio introduced the model IV preamp, which had a button on the left side of the faceplate, that showed...Gain...active / passive. Interestingly, a year or 2 prior, the CD was introduced. Prior to the cd, we audiophiles and music listeners, listened to vinyl, open reel tape, radio ( tuner ) cassette tape, and in my case, worked a bit with microphones, patch bays, mixing consoles, and dabbled in live recording ( early on ). As most of you know about me from my posts here, I own Klipsch Lascalas ( tweaked and modified ). I met Paul Klipsch, and was, from my very early beginnings, a Klipschaholic. My dad had AR3a’s, driven by a Fisher 500C. My music teacher / singing coach, had Klipsch Cornwalls ( the mid and hf horns were vertically mounted, mirror imaged, and were the only pair I had ever seen with this vertical arrangement ), which soon became mine, as he upgraded to the Khorns. My dad no longer wanted tubes, so he purchased a Sansui 8 Deluxe, and I, the 500 C. Wow !. We were both happy. The Sansui was so much a better match for driving his power hungry ARs, and I was happy with my combo ( this was the late 60s already ). Moving along to the CD era, the typical cd player, produced 2 volts output, which was enough to drive most power amplifiers directly ( just needed a way to control volume ). The early cd players, were large and heavy, and they had, as part of their designs, massive transformers and huge, hefty power supplies. Sony, if I remember (and I could be wrong ),was the 1st company, who offered a variable audio output on their players, and we, the equipment consumers, bypassed our preamps, and were running these cd players, even through receivers and integrated amps, that allowed the disconnect between the pre and power sections, going direct into the power amp sections. Getting back to the introduction of the PS Audio model IV preamp, and its gain switch. This began an onslaught of passive devices ( volume controls / switching units ), without a gain stage, to hit the market. Moving along to modern day, there are hundreds of passives available. Some dac manufacturers claim, they can drive amplifiers directly. As it turns out, within the last several years, manufacturers are now producing integrated amplifiers, sans a preamp gain stage, taking the signal of the source ( not just cd players and dacs ), but tuners, tape machines, computers, phones, outboard phono stages, cable and satellite boxes, etc., and driving the power amp directly, without the need for the extra gain stage. What I want to tell you, is this. With the right system ( and I will use my system as an example ), an extra gain stage ( preamp ), does more harm, than good. A longer signal path ( more parts, more wires, more circuits ), can only destroy finite details, can only add colorations, can only add distortions, if GAIN IS NOT NEEDED. I used to feel this is in part, to the very high sensitivity of my loudspeakers, as any of my ( what remains of my collection ) 20 or so power amps, runs them so very easily. However, I have introduced many folks to the passive band wagon, taught them what to listen for, helped them with their systems, and now, enjoy passive listening. With all types of systems. Jumping back to my Luminous Audio unit ( I am using their top single ended model, but they all share similar topology ). This is a fixed series / variable shunt device. What this means is, the signal never passes through the volume control. The signal travels through 1 high quality resistor, and the amplifier’s inputs are shunted to ground, via the potentiometer, itself. The resistors can be selected, as well as the potentiometers, depending on the model, and Luminous will impedance match your particular unit, to match your system. For a nominal fee, it can be sent back to Luminous, and be designed to match with other / different gear. The beauty of my passive unit, is, that I do not " hear it ", in my system. It is NEUTRAL. Another term popularly used, is COLORLESS. How I know this. Using a self modified Yamaha pro amp from my collection, which has input attenuators ( as all pro amps do ), I hear no difference between my dac feeding the amp directly, vs the Luminous in the system ( although, I do hear the additional 1/2 meter Audio Research Litz interconnect, needed, with the passive ). Yes, this cable has a sound ( all cables, ime, do ). I am not getting paid by Luminous, by Klipsch, by anyone, posting this. Lastly, 2 more things. I have heard a few systems, in which an active preamp was beneficial ( the added gain ), but, to my ears, some neutrality was lost. I also greatly believe ( besides the source needing to have the proper output voltage and matching impedance ), the source, whatever it would be ( let’s say a dac ), should have a very hefty, over designed, stiff and well regulated, power supply, as part of it’s analog output section, based on my listening ( many do not ). I am open to further discussions on this matter, invite questions, and share experiences. Enjoy, be well and stay safe. Always, MrD.