CD output voltage too high for preamp: what to do?

I have a similar situation with a high gain amp (.8v for full output, 30 db gain) and was having the same issue with the volume control, both for digital (1.5v) and analog playback. I just bought the Rothwell attenuators and they work for me. Now I can go to about 12 o'clock before the level begins to get too loud (previously between 9 and 10 was the norm). I don't notice additional noise and used on the inputs of the amp I've lowered the gain from the preamp about 10db. Since this seems to be an issue with the CDP, I would first try these on the CD input of the preamp so as not to interfere with an other sources you may be using.

This is a bit of a curiosity for me. If the output of a DAC is 1.5V, is there a minimum input impedance the preamp should have to accomodate the DACs output? Does the preamps gain play into this equation? My preamp has 4 gain settings, 11db, 14db, 17db, and 20db. I have always used the preamp with the 11db setting, but since I am now using the Rothwell attenuators it would appear that only 1bd of gain is getting passed into the amp. That seems pretty low to me. It's been suggested by others to go to a passive, but I researched this and don't want to risk giving anything up in dynamics. The preamp is a Joule Electra LA-100 MkIII (20k input impedance, 300 ohn output impedance).

In looking at the Endler attenuators they appear to be a replacement to the active preamp, not used with it. Am I understanding this correctly? If they indeed can be used with an active preamp to reduce the gain, these might be worth a try.

I ordered the Endler attenuators in the 4k 24 step version. I am going to use them on the amp with my preamp in the chain feeding them. I did read in the PF review that used alone with a source feeding it, while the attenuators were very musical and transparent, there was a tradeoff in reduced soundtage and imaging (more 2 dimensional sound is what the end result was). Has anyone experienced this? Might this be different using the preamp in the chain?

My preamp is a Joule Electra LA-100 MkIII, with input impedance of 20k ohms and output impedance of 300 ohms. Currently it is set at 11db of gain.

Depends on how much the gain is reduced. My preamp has switches with plus or minus 3db increments. Even at the lowest level of 11db I am experiencing too much gain.