Personally I wouldn't be without an active pre-amp and I certainly would not want a 2d VC in the chain. Boils down the the active v passive issues discussed here so often.I'm generally of this mindset too, but since I purchased my TAD 60 I've softened my position some. The TAD is much more sensitive than any other amp I've used, and with a single CD input I'm not at all missing an active preamp. I was actually surprised when I first hooked it up this way . . . it was the first time I've been satisfied with a passive preamp.
