Won't preamps become obsolete?

Oh come on Vvrinc, I mean, I'm a big vinyl fan and have listened to almost nothing but since returning to it 6 months ago (just bought a Plinius M14 phono stage here on A'gon). My kids think my turntable is cool too but they are still downloading their audiofiles (pun intended) and we must all acknowledge that vinyl is gradually fading away as very little new stuff is released and vinylphiles prefer to search for the dwindling stock of old .... but I don't want to derail my own thread from the basic question I asked (and thanks to many above for your perspectives). As noted, I need a preamp because I will alway have vinyl but can't ignore the reality of cd. I asked about the future of preamps because I'm concerned if I lay out some big bucks for one,(looking at an ARC LS16mk2), it won't be a good investment as many people are turning to alternatives. What is a good longer term investment for $2K used?

Lots of good responses BUT it all depends on the matching of the CDP preamp and input on the amp. It also depends on the quality of the volume control in the CDP. The Shanling mentioned above had a poor volume control even in my highly modded one. It also depends on the preamp too. With some of the higher priced CDPs that have better volume controls, you will need a pretty good preamp to beat them running direct. I would not run an Audio Aero Cap MKII into many low end preamps an expect better sound than running it direct but maybe into higher preamps but this becomes a law of diminishing returns.

"though passive pre's add nothing to the signal-they sound waayy tooo threadbare ..."

My experience does not support the statement above.
My cdp has a volume control, but I still prefer the Placette Passive linestage in the chain. The Placette replaced a $6k tube preamp in my system.

I think Bigkidz is right about the importance of matching and the quality of the volume control. These are two of the reasons the Placette performs so well.

Aside from the discussion whether active, or passive, or no preamp can work better, may I mention another way to enhance signal transfer? Although I am a fan of the $350 EVS Ultimate Attenuators from tweakaudio.com, I have found that there is a way to improve passive or active preamp, or even no preamp (Ultimate Attenuators.)
Placing the SCE Harmonic Recovery System active box (no controls to adjust) between the CD source and the amplification seems to greatly enhance the CD listening experience.

Most volume controls in amps and CDP are of low quality volume control which really restrict dynamics and sound quality. If you are thinking going direct from source to amp, you need a very high quality volume control. I listen to vinyl only and I have a phono stage with a pair of transformer volume control (TVC) which is arguably the best kind of volume control. Some audiophiles use TVC in a passive box for their CDP. Most CDPs have digital volume control, which is the worst thing you can have. In any preamp, whether it's active or passive, volume control is extremely critcal, it could act as the bottle-neck for the whole system. TVC is expensive, but is really worth the money considering it control the sound level of your system, which could be many times the money of your volume control.