Help with passive preamp

give axiom,s pass.pre a try ,the sound is incredible. Good hearing to you

Maddoggy, do you mean Luminous Audio Axiom?

Use the .75v sensitivity, gain all the way up, and you'll have no problem using a passive. I used that configuration for a few years with various sources and speakers.

Good advice so far, but I think you just need to try it and hear for yourself. If the McIntosh stats stated previously are correct, use the high sensitivity setting (.75V) on the amp. The 20k ohm input impedance concerns me, especially since you are using a resistor-based passive. Typically the output impedance of a passive preamp will vary depending on where the volume level is set. So at certain setting it could be high enough to have a negative effect on the sound.

In my experience you would want greater than 2V output and less than 200 ohms output impedance from your source; use short interconnects, preferably 1m or less; and an amp with high sensitivity, 1v or better along with a minimum of 50k input impedance.

FWIW, TVC and AVC designs are generally more forgiving of impedance mismatches. So try out the Canary and let us know.

You can also consider an audio buffer to lower the output impedance from your passive to power amp. There is a few options out there but the Burson one seems to be well regarded.

http://www.bursonaudio.com/burson_buffer_160.htm