Opinions Needed: Active or passive pre

I experience the EXACT same thing related to volume control. Also the interconnects are a factor. When I use my red dawn interconnects, the passive preamp has a little more juice than when I use my much lower end esoterica audio interconnect. Also, I recently bought an audio research ph-3 phono preamp. This has a tubed output stage. When I use it to drive my AR tube amplifier, I much prefer the passive mode. There is an unworldly clarity that comes in. I believe this is due to the all-tube amplification stage. I wonder what my cd would sound like with a tube cd player ?

I have a Sony 777. What kind of improvement do you get with the Bel Canto DAC?

joekras, the bel canto seems to be alittle smoother and has less glare in the treble, It also has more "atmosphere" I think the upsampling helps

I spent years dabbling with both passive and active pre amps. Based on my experience, no matter what you buy, or what you spend, it all boils down to the following: passive pre amp lose some of the "kick" in the music, that an active design preserves. On the flip side, most active pre amps suck when it comes to preserving those minor nuances and harmonic details that you learn to love, after you've experienced them. Unless you can afford an ultra expensive active, you will have decide which of the above aforementioned charactaristics you treasure the most.

I would like to try passive preamp, but need the extra output for my subwoofer. I am using a Audible Illusion L1 and Janis sub. My Spica speakers run full range. Any suggestions?