How much do I need to spend to get a preamp that sounds better than no preamp?

Ralph (atmasphere) is trying to counter my quote with other quotes.
But it still doesn’t get around the fact, that a favourite sounding Pass preamp of Nelson’s is the Aleph L.
And this preamp is a totally passive switched resistor attenuator as his statement shows, only becoming "active" after the volume control goes beyond 3 o’clock.
This is a patented "active" circuit, that he introduced is for the use with a couple of his Aleph type ect low very gain power amplifiers, which have very little only <20db or so gain, so then the "active" part of this preamp has to make up for this low poweramp gain, but the sound does take a hit as he says when the active circuit comes in beyond 3 o’clock.
Thankfully most power amps on the market are much more gain and the "active" circuit wouldn’t be used, and the Aleph L will stay totally passive.

Nelson Pass:
 "This preamplifier flows from a commitment to create the best sounding product: a simple circuit with the most natural characteristic.

Unique to this preamp, patent pending, is a volume level control which combines the best qualities of a passive attenuator and active gain circuitry:
At the 3 o’clock volume control position, the Aleph L offers a direct path from input to output.
The only component in the signal path is wire and switch contacts.

At positions below 3 o’clock, the volume control functions as a precision passive attenuator using discrete resistor ladders.

Above 3 o’clock, active gain is added to the output signal in 2 decibel increments, for a maximum of 10 dB.
As a result, you suffer the effects of active circuitry only when additional gain is necessary."

As far as impedance matching goes, over 90% of sources and amps have a fine match with passive attenuators.
It’s only the very few tube output >1kohm dacs and very low input impedance <20kohm power amps that can take a slight sound quality hit.
As for interconnects quality low capacitance which thankfully most are, at 2mt or less in length. And you have what Nelson Pass describes as the best way to get the sources signal to the poweramp/s, with control over the volume.

Cheers George

The Pass is going back.

Looking at the schematic, I'm not sure it's not buffered by the gain stage to a degree. The entire length of the resistor ladder is fed by the MOSFET with the direct source line tapping into the ladder at RV6. It looks like the ladder just attenuates the MOSFET gain below the line level further down the ladder. 

If your talking about the Aleph L there are two versions. This mkII passive patent pending one as he puts it:
"The only component in the signal path is wire and switch contacts."
Then it becomes active when the volume goes beyond 3 o’clock.

Cheers George

I looked at the most recent service manual from Pass. It's got both revisions. The original has no such direct connection. The revised design really only attenuates the gain below the line level. The gain stage isn't on its own discreet ladder.