I agree with Elizabeth. If you plan on using the EAR with a seperate pre, buy the one without the volume pot. In any system with better than average resolution the difference will be very audible. Simpler signal path will almost always yield superior sound. A big part of the brilliance of the EAR's design is, in fact, it's simplicity. Why muck it up unnecessarily?.
BTW, I use the EAR with a passive with exceptional results. It's all about good matching of all components in the system. I suspect that the reviewer that you allude to was making the point that the version with the volume control was the better sonic choice, IF you were NOT going to use a seperate pre.
BTW, I use the EAR with a passive with exceptional results. It's all about good matching of all components in the system. I suspect that the reviewer that you allude to was making the point that the version with the volume control was the better sonic choice, IF you were NOT going to use a seperate pre.