What you are refering to is called a "passive preamp", which is nothing more than just a potentiometer, aka volume control, stuck in a box of some sort, with RCAs in and out.
I know a lot of guys using them, and they do work well within their limitations. Depending on the value of the pot, input capacitance of the amp and cables, blah, blah......you can lose some of the top end. Bottom end usually suffers some, as drive impedance is high. (Don't ask me to explain why, just trust me.)
You may like it, you may hate it. Won't cost much to try it.
I know a lot of guys using them, and they do work well within their limitations. Depending on the value of the pot, input capacitance of the amp and cables, blah, blah......you can lose some of the top end. Bottom end usually suffers some, as drive impedance is high. (Don't ask me to explain why, just trust me.)
You may like it, you may hate it. Won't cost much to try it.