Andy, passives DO have an ohm rating. A transformer volume control has a STEADY ohm rating in & of itself. Volume pots have a rating that may vary with frequency. Usually one checks impedance at a reference 1kHz frequency.
However, all that needs to happen is that:
*the source (i.e. yr Denon at moment) outputs enough energy to drive the "passive"; check its output impedance (the lower the better).
*the power amp's input impedance is high enough to be driven "passively" (to put it simply, 10k or more)
Armed with this info, give the passive's supplier a call.
Case in point:
my cdp has a 22-30 ohm output impedance across its frequency range (22 ohm reference).
My amps have 10kOhm & 33kOhm. BTW, one of my amps is a Symphonic Line Kraft -- S-Line being the design Odyssey uses for its amps. I use a 10k rated TRANNY volume control with excellent results.
Before that I used a 100k and 250k volume pot: the 250 sounded better: amazing, but there it is!
Cheers