What is a passive preamp?

I am trying to be nice Herman but obviously you are one of those people that will not admit it when they are wrong so let's stop even discussing the subject. You can be right if you say you are. But ARC as an example names all of their preamps with a phono stage with the prefix SP for stereo preamp as in SP-9, SP-10 and so forth. They use the prefix LS for their line stages which contain no phono stage as in LS-9, LS-16 and so forth. I use ARC as an example but there are many others and the ARC Data Base is not affiliated with ARC anyway.

As I stated earlier, you can call a linestage a preamp if you want. A lot of people do including myself.

0db is wide open on many preamps and receivers that have a numerical readout.

RWEAR- You'll have to stop using AR as a reference. Check the Audio Research Corporation's OFFICIAL website and look at the LS-26 page! Audio Research Corporation refers to the LS-26(Line Stage-26) as a PREAMPLIFIER, and it has no phono stage. (As I mentioned in my previous post)

As I stated earlier, you can call a linestage a preamp if you want. A lot of people do including myself.

Mr wear, from their official website as I pointed out in a link in a previous post.

http://www.audioresearch.com/products.html

MP1 Multichannel Preamplifier
SP17 Class-A Full-Function Vacuum Tube Preamplifier
LS17 Class-A Vacuum Tube Stereo Line Preamplifier
LS26 Class-A Vacuum Tube Stereo Line Preamplifier

If you care to notice they call every one of these a preamplifier.

I accept your apology.

03-02-08: Herman
A linestage is a preamplifier that can only deal with line level sources (CD players, DACs, tape decks, tuners) i.e. it is a preamplifier that does not have a phono stage.