A passive preamp will work fine with many systems.
The only problem with some system using a passive preamp is the current drive of the original source component is insufficient to properly drive the amplifier.
The electical signal comes out ot the source component and has a certain complex combination of voltage, impedence, load it wants see, and amperage (small, but meaningful)
The passive preamp really just passes along the signal, just cutting it down with the volume control, to the amplifier.
If the signal isn't able to drive the amplifier properly, the sound is "thin" or shallow.
That is the one sometime flaw with passive preamps.
The active preamp takes care of that problem, at the risk of being more veiled.
The tradeoff is which one do you want to worry about?
(For the electrical engineers: please excuse the bastardized explaination, I try, if you can explain it better, please do!)
The only problem with some system using a passive preamp is the current drive of the original source component is insufficient to properly drive the amplifier.
The electical signal comes out ot the source component and has a certain complex combination of voltage, impedence, load it wants see, and amperage (small, but meaningful)
The passive preamp really just passes along the signal, just cutting it down with the volume control, to the amplifier.
If the signal isn't able to drive the amplifier properly, the sound is "thin" or shallow.
That is the one sometime flaw with passive preamps.
The active preamp takes care of that problem, at the risk of being more veiled.
The tradeoff is which one do you want to worry about?
(For the electrical engineers: please excuse the bastardized explaination, I try, if you can explain it better, please do!)