Passive Pre - No Regrets?

Mr. Sphere, So if the volume control is connected to the first stage of an amp by a few inches of wire that is OK, but if it is connected by a few feet then that is bad? I don't buy it. The difference in impedance of 3 feet of wire vs. 3 inches of wire is negligible.

Maybe, and that is a big maybe, at the very lowest volume settings it will come into play, but if you are operating down there most of the time then the system has too much gain to begin with.

And even though I'm sure you are a stand up guy, and many people here know that you are a mnaufacturer of active, balanced preamps, it should be disclosed so your advice can be properly evaluated. I'm sure if Mr. Placette answered this question we would get a completely different response.

I traded my Cat mk2 with a pair of scott endler attenuators running direct to my tube monos with the attenuators on the front of the interconnects instead of the end in to the monos.
The sound and detail was just immense compared with the Cat, although not in every position on the attenuators. This setup was very anoying to opperate with a second source, hade to be switched with the Interconnects, you get the point.Now I use a Sonic Euphoria TVC and get about 95% of the package with the convenience to tave a Remote Control . I do not regrett that I
sold the Cat, because I got my Money back I had into it.I would like to try those silver rocks from switzerland ,because I believe in having nothing or the least in between any component connection with the highest quality o parts.To you I suggest to buy a used TVC and try yourself ,You can always resale if your setup dosn't improve maybe without a loss.

Hi Herman, Obviously I don't hide who I am :) I also cannot escape facts- and I outlined them above. Yes- a few inches of wire (often unshielded) can be a *lot* different from a few feet of cable. If you've not tried it, then do so! You will see what I mean. There is a good and simple reason there are so many comments on this thread favoring active line stages: the issue is real.

Integrated amplifiers often share power supplies and limit the ability to keep short speaker cables while at the same time putting the sources at a distance from local sound fields. There can be no question that while they might be very good, they are a compromise in these areas and always have been. But if you have no space to start with they can be a good choice.

Pubul57, my man, you have done me a BIG favour by starting this thread! :-)
I had EXACTLY the same idea/thought (to swap out my CAT SL1 Sig Mk 3 for a passive 'cuz it has too much gain & the resistor attenutor volume control has large steps, which is the ONLY thing that drives me crazy with this preamp) & (as coincidence would have it) even shared my thoughts on this with Ozzy62.

I also would be very interested in reading your comments on the Placette resistor VC (& any other passive pre you might try). Please post them in this thread. Thanks!

"There is a good and simple reason there are so many comments on this thread favoring active line stages: the issue is real."

There are even more favoring passives. Not that either proves anything.

"But any line section that has a low enough output impedance will drive a single-ended cable quite well- this is how 50 ohm cable for video can work."

My Museatex Bitsream dac has an output of 3V@300ohms. My Art Audio amp has a sensitivity of 0.7V and input impedence of 180kOhms. I don't seem to have any problems and prefer the TVC to any active preamp I have used within my price range.

Different tools for different tastes.