Are passive preamps better?

Agree with Pubul57,

My response to passive preamps is no.

With passive you have the hardware in the way, volume controls in the way, wire in the way, RCA (or XLR) jacks in the way but you get ZERO benefit.

Zero gain, zero contrast and zero dynamic enhancement from the original signal.

I agree with Albert and Pubul:

Right now I'm listening through Endler resistor-based volume controls ahead of Atma-Sphere MA-1s. Nice combo, but I've got a custom Audio Note kits L3 active in the UPS pipeline that'll replace the Endlers with no regrets. I've also used the DIY HiFi Django w/S&B iron ahead of Atmas as well - again nice, but ultimately lacking the energy imparted by a Blue Circle BC-3000 or Atma MP-3 (the last two actives in my system).

If one has $1000 or less budgeted to a "preamp", I'd go with a passive; otherwise, I'd save for a quality active preamp.

I had an NVA passive pre which....delivered music "as is". When I tried an Audio Note tube pre, the music became alive. So I am now an active pre camper!

Just to represent the other 50%

I like my Sonic Euphoria passive a lot. The last active I had created a lot of glare which is now gone. The active before that did not provide enough gain. The one before that sounded flat. (Supratek, Joule, BAT - not top of the line but not exactly chopped liver)

No doubt that the rig sounds different with the passive then straight from source to amp. A bit darker and smoother. Maybe more emphasis on certain details. But NO glare.

For now I am happy - lots of detail. sounds great at low levels, no tube rolling ang$t. I am sure I will go active again but for now this is working for me.

I am a happy owner of passive pre-amp based on S&B trainnies. It has 0 and 6dB of gain, which is switchable.

The sound is very transparent without loss of dynamics. I compared it with several pre-amps (for example with EAR 864) and it was clear winner.

Saying all that, I wouldn't though say that every passive is better than every active pre-amp. It depends a lot on your music taste, the rest of equipment, ... So the best way is to try several options, active and passive, in your system and then to make a decision. There are a lot of extremly well sounding active pre-amps (and not only tube but also SS) on the market.