[Quiet Earth]

Good discussion guys. Lot's of pro's and cons to consider and it's not an easy task to adjust the volume.

Saying that one is always better than the other is completely impossible.

A parallel question: When does one use a passive or an active amplifier control?

These are my feelings too. Perhaps another parallel question might be : How much are you willing to spend to get to the next level of quality? Because whether you make it yourself or buy it, better quality costs more money.

For now, I am enjoying my humble TVC. It works so well in my system and it suits my taste. I accept it for what it does well, and whatever it does not do doesn't really bother me. Someday I might pony up the big bucks for a high quality active volume control, but for now I can only dream about it.

[roymail]

It works so well in my system and it suits my taste. I accept it for what it does well, and whatever it does not do doesn't really bother me.

Well said, Quiet Earth.  Exactly right, and for me this is the bottom line.  It will always be system based.  Synergy is an audio fact of life.  Every component contributes, and the result is the sum of all.

For me, I only want to hear the sound of the amplified source and nothing else.  The GP/Elma stepped attenuator does that me.

[konut]

A parallel question: When does one use a passive or an active amplifier control?

There is no reason to debate which one is better. It's 100% application specific.

Passive set ups are more conducive to digital sources, though this is a generalisation. It is certainly possible to put together a vinyl system that does not use an active preamp, but it would call for a phono pre with a substantial output. I'm not sure if such a creature exists, as its just not an interest of mine.
    It depends, primarily, on whether ones sources have enough output to drive an amp, and how many of those sources need controlling. As most of my sources are digital, it was relatively easy for me to determine what kind of DAC would fulfill the role in a passive setup. The preference for a passive system was not an arbitrary decision. It was a journey of many years listening to , and owning, many different kinds of components that drove my decision to go passive.