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Tell me your best preamp

Well, whatever it’s called, that step attenuator built into an enclosure with bits of wire, jacks and a knob and placed previous to the amplifier has become indispensable to the enjoyment my hifi experience!
They can work quite well if you have adequate gain in your system and don't need additional amplification. A fringe benefit is that the attenuator adds no distortion to the signal, too.
 
They can work quite well if you have adequate gain in your system and don't need additional amplification. A fringe benefit is that the attenuator adds no distortion to the signal, too.
It’s true, I‘ve been using a passive for years, first with a pot until discovering step attenuators which was a game changer for low volume listening.
 
They can work quite well if you have adequate gain in your system and don't need additional amplification. A fringe benefit is that the attenuator adds no distortion to the signal, too.
The downside is their output impedance can be quite high - meaning if there is sufficient capacitance on the output cable, that *can* start to have an audible effect on the frequency response.
 
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It took some time studying the concept of bridging between source, passive pre and power amps, (I'm no EE), but it's worked out well.
 
There are some amazing threads and links to passives, (they may be passive but I’m the one actively getting up to change the volume), and as a electrical lay person, ASR offers so much expertise and it’s easy to forget to show gratitude, so, thanks!
 
The Topping has a digital volume control. I would never connect that directly to a Poweramp. If that thing ever glitches out you get 100% volume.
Best of all worlds: power amps with step attenuators in their input to limit maximum volume.

But you need to consider failure modes in the amp itself.

Are fuses against the law?
 
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