Best Preamp = No Preamp?

It really depends on your system, with multiple amps etc. I would think a preamp is necesary.
I am using passive preamp but I have very sensitive speakers (horns) and a very sensitive amplifier (low input voltage and very high input impedance) and in my case the passive did beat a top of the line preamp, by a very small margin.
In different cases active preamps do add body and dynamics to the music, but low quality preamps do mess everything up so it is dangerous. One of the most important parts of a preamp is the volume control which can vary in price and quality, I like resistor loaded attenuators, which can be used in active or passive preamps, a bad volume control can destroy the signal!

As always, there is no rule....

A bad preamp is the worst thing you could add to a system. A good preamp can do wonders if your system is not well balanced or not too sensitive.
With a very sensitive system, the best I heard is a passive preamp, resistor attenuators wired directly into the amps, smooth extened on both ends and dynamic.
Less is more....but it needs to be enough!