That surprises me as well since most of us dont use gain with normal listening. I believe the majority of us are attenuating the signals. I know that my amp is putting out maximum wattage at 1.8 Volts. If I were to put out the 2 volts from CD into my amp it would clip. That would be well over 400 watts into a pair of Vandersteen 3A Signatures. Not good.
I believe the Placette units are very good as well. So far Ive had no need for gain from my pre. I hope this continues to be the case in the future.
Dre