Gain stages on Preamp

same thing (synonym) Czarivey - voltage dividers, attenuators. they reduce/attenuate the voltage coming out of the preamp.

I like using dual volume. In my analogue setup I use Nakamichi RX202 tape deck to provide extra boost to phonostage. That extra boost I can vary from record to record and achieve an ideal volume settings per listening I desire.

yeah, I see what you are saying - the flexibility is good but you have one more distortion-creating device in your signal chain which is not good IMO but if it works for you-great! :-) I feel it's better to have minimum electronics in one's signal path with each device correctly designed for the job. This way one does not need to band-aid.....

It trades off. The right volume takes care of distortions.