Should I eliminate my preamp?

I go back and forth with passive and active .One thing I have noticed using a $60 SMPro Nano patch volume controller with my all digital library is no recordings have that drive your ears to bleed like active preamps can have . Must have had a dozen or so actives in recent years , Certain recordings were improved with added bass and treble from a active , but more recordings sounded bright . Used to think it was the recordings when in fact it was the preamp causing the problems. I still am bringing in active preamps as it is part of my hobby and is fun . It is nice to have another method to try that can sit in a closet and not worry about the price while its not being used .

I do have a question regarding passives . The pot used in the SM Pro Nano patch I use I assume costs a few bucks . Would say a Alps volume pot have a different sound ? I would assume all passives should have a similar sound . Is there a way to alter the sound with a passive be it with different interconnects or like I mentioned different brands of pots?  

One last thing . I have had 30 pairs of speakers in the last 5 years and have noticed if a duller sounding speaker gets used with the passive it will sound dull . Add a active pre and that speaker wakes up a little . This might be why people prefer the active with their speakers . When Using a passive with higher energy speakers in the upper mids and treble and those speakers did not sound sterile or dull . All system dependent .

I switched from using a DAC direct to my power amplifiers to a preamp and never looked back. The addition of a preamp substantially improved my sound quality st all levels. It was a “huge improvement”. 

However, as was stated above, it is possible that going direct maybe thd best but I do not know your system.  All my testing proved to me that a preamp, in my system, produced the best sound by a huge margin. You might have to test some combinations in your system to see what you like.

As as you can see from the above posts, everyone, it seems, has a different opinion.  If possible, j suggest you demo with and without a preamp and see what you like.  I did this testing and purchased a preamp. 

Using a passive I know in my case that there is a real noticeable difference when I go from a 1 meter cable to a half of meter cable. I has a fuller more complete sound when I use a half a meter cable no matter which the five brands I have to try.