Is my preamp useless?

"Mr. Hansen of Ayre has stated that passives will outperform actives in suitable systems until one gets pretty high up in price for the active unit. There might be some truth in that.
Larryi (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

I think you're right about Pass and the Ayre AX-7 has a passive line stage. His reason for not using an active is that he can't make something active that sounds as good for what the AX-7 sells for.

"Is the Luminous Audio Axiom a decent passive? It uses a conventional resistive ladder network for attenuation. It’s not a lot of money, so I won’t be risking much."

I haven't heard one myself, but the comments are generally very positive. If you can get one at a price that wouldn't involve too much risk, I say try it.

"Finally, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of love for BAT in this group. I expect their next to top-of-the-line (at the time) would be pretty decent. If you disagree, please tell me why. Thanks!"

There's one thing you need to understand when reading our comments. If you sat every single one of us down and had us listen to the same exact system, we would all hear something different. We all have different taste's, level of experience and beliefs in how we judge things. For example, I will immediately focus on the high frequencies. That's what's most important to me. I may miss a flaw in the bass, but one of the others may not. Some listeners will focus on bass and not so much the highs, like me. Some people like a lot of detail, some do not. Some are very picky about dynamic contrast, and others like coherency. At this point, you probably understand why I asked you if you had a technical background. That's another obstacle to deal with.

All of this means that you should use our comments as just that. Get some ideas from them. But under no circumstances, should you let us make decisions for you. That is something you must do on your own. We don't have to listen to your system, you do. Just because some of us don't care for BAT means nothing. If you like it, that's all that matters. Every single brand in existence has people that don't like them. BAT's no exception.

My recommendation would be to explore some of the other brands everyone here has recommended. You may come to prefer something else, or you may stick with what you currently have. There's no right or wrong here. It would just be unfortunate if you let us talk you out of a BAT preamp, if that's what you really like best. You shouldn't feel guilty or wrong about keeping something you like.

Thanks folks. I didn't realize the Ayre has a passive line stage. That gives me another avenue to explore.

Its just that one integrated amp.

Slanski- Glad you're still here! I used to own a BAT and would never talk them down. The question of passive vs. active has been the focus of much of the discussion, engendered by your comments about how much attenuation you are employing, which indicates excessive overall system gain, which has sparked the discussion about passive "pre-amps". You may also know that Georgelofi is designer/builder of the Lightspeed Attenuator aka LSA. He has very generously made his design available to the DIY community and also sells finished product. Obviously, he is a strong advocate of passive pre-amps and as many have stated, the LSA may be the biggest "bang for the buck" item currently available in high end audio. However, that does not guarantee that it is the best product to help realize your goals for your system. Maybe yes, maybe no. Another, similar option would be a tube buffer w attenuator/volume control. Others w more technical knowledge than me can tell you why that might be an appropriate option under certain circumstances.