Best preamp is no preamp: always true?

Thanks. So now the ultimate question: it seems that there is a strong measurable factors rationale behind the use of the appropriate active PRE, namely impedance, gain, etc. Does this mean that it is safe to shop based on measurements that "match" the rest of my system to short-list a few PREs or is it a case of meaningless measurements and the "perfect" match is purely based on listening?
Thanks, this is a great source of info for a newbie like me.

smokester - very interesting response. I have been researching passive preamps of late and have been getting quite confused in the process. Resistive versus transformer-based versus autoformers, where does it end. Interestingly I had a conversation with the owner of First Sound yesterday as I was interested in their passive preamp. Bottom line, he suggested I look into one of his active preamps. Go figure... (no pun intended).

Pick your preference and use your ear.
Afterall, your ear will enjoy the most : )

newerphile,
Yes. There are some obvious measureable things to avoid otherwise you may possibly be covering up one ill with another. However, I think the general concensus is that, once you have the right gain level and impedences matched, always trust your ears.

S23chang: I think it will come down to that!
I looked upon the specs of my source and my amp and I see no particular problem with gain (out 2v, in 0.4v), nor impedance (out 325, in 35k). I guess I am free to listen to any preamp then, active or passive!!!!