I have been using passive preamps for the last few years, but I am not deaf to all those who say an active is the only way to go. I contacted Roger Modjeski and he built one of his new custom line level preamps for me to use with my Tortuga passive. It is as simple as possible : 2 RCA's in and 2 RCA's out, with the gain switchable between 2 levels: 0 dB and +6 dB. It uses a single 12AT7 tube and is extremely quiet. After using it into my Shindo amp for a couple of months, I have decided I just don't need it. The sound is the same (except for the gain when switched in) so I see no need to keep it in the chain. For me, with my gear, a completely passive works fine, but your system may benefit from it. I paid $450 plus shipping and will sell it for $325 OBO to include shipping in CONUS and paypal fees. If, like me, you have been curious about active vs passive, buy it, try it for a while and if you don't need it pass it on to the next person. If it improves your system, you have added a very nice active to your system for a very small price.
