I have had a Placette for over a year now. I will never go active again. I have hi output low impedence sources and sensative hi input impedence amps. This is perfect for a passive linestage. Not everyone has components as well suited for sure. If I connected my source to my amp directly the volume was way too loud. This means my amplified linestage was really an attenuator! Going passive was a real shocking improvement for me. I will also say it is hard to find a phono stage suited for this. Low impedence out is hard to find especially with tubes.I have no opinion on my resistor ladder style unit vs a transformer based unit other than less passive friendly components than mine could benefit from transformered units and their potential 6db gain. They are more likely to color sound than a resistor ladder which could or may not be beneficial. Your results may vary in other words. Good luck! I like the Placettes remote control as well and the fact that a passive doesn't need a power cord(upgrade)since only the control functions use AC power not the signal path.
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