Passive Pre - No Regrets?

Thanks Jsadurni ,
From what I've read so far..the PLC is slightly different in configuration from a TVC like the K&K, Bent, Django, Music First and so on. I would try a different version before you give up competely.

Good listening

Yesterday I ordered the Placette Remote Volume Control with a 30-day trial. From my discussion with Guy, it seems the impedance issues are ideal for a passive approach. I'm very interested to see if it betters my CAT Pre, not only is it $7,000 cheaper, but no tubes to "worry" about (except for the 22 in my CAT amp). I'm glad I'll have both on hand to A/B, if the Placette proves to be better or as good, it really would be an eye opener. Thanks for all you input (no pun intended). Oh, and if it works, I'll probably be posting the CAT for sale here at Audiogon.

Wait a while before selling the CAT. Go back to it after two weeks.

Pubul57,

Please give us your opinion of the Placette vs. the Cat after you've had time to evaluate and compare.

Tbg, I will definitely not give up on the CAT that fast. On the amplifier side, I keep bringing in challengers to the JL2 and while I like trying new stuff, I find that the JL2 is clearly superior to any othe amp I've heard (all these other amps (ARC, Pass, Quicksilver) I've tried sound great to me in their own right, till I go back to the CAT as a reference point). I have found the SL1 pretty hard to beat as well, I've tried Lamm LL2, Joule 150, and ARC Ref 2. Of course, these are all "good", top flight preamplfiers, but the CAT equipment just seems hard to beat for my taste and matching equipment. I would love to find that a $1,000 passive pre can beat the CAT over the long run - I'm certainly open to it. I'll report back on my "test" when I have 2-3 weeks with the Placette. Thank you all for you help.