Are passive preamps better?

I did not make that question clear. I think it was a dumb question. It seems to me that all passive preamps of decent quality would be equal in terms of how the amp sees them. If one didn't work, none would. (I'm not including the Placette Active in this group). I tend to try taking the lower cost route and that usually doesn't work out and then I buy the piece I should have bought origianlly. I know better, but there I go again. If the cd player direct to amp didn't wrk because of the inferrior volume control then a passive would solve the problem. The Goldpoint for sale would be a somewhat low cost experiment.

I'm sure there are differences between passives, just as there are differences between actives.
I have to ask though.....why?
Even though most here have recommended active preamps, you seem predisposed to passives. So why even ask? Just go ahead and buy the passive and form your own opinion, the same way the rest of us did.

Cheers,
John

I've always wondered, when discussing passive pre-amps, with and withoput transformers, what is the effect of a passive pre-amp without transformers, which has a varible output impedence from 50K ohms to near 0 ohms at max volume rotation, a point where it should be, for all pratical purposes invisible to amp? How does the sources output interact with the passive pre in relationship to the passives output, or does it? I've never understood any of this. Is it meaningful at all?

Does a passive with transformers present a constant output impedence to the amp? Is it affected by the sources impedence?

Or are these just meaningless questions?

John, you're right. The Placette active is my goal. I need to hear a stepped attenuator. I don't have any. Newbee asks much better questions. Lynne

I guess the simplest answer is "yes and no". I commit heresy in that I use a Joule Electra LA150 pre-amp with a Placette Passive between it and power amp. Get superb results, I could detect no difference with the Placette in the circuit.