Hi Jon

Yes but whether you like the results or not is another matter. With an active pre amp you have a constant output impedance. With a passive you have a variable output impedance, as the power amp is looking directly at the potentiometer. So again it is interface. Does the power amp reject that load and *load itself* the way an NVA does or does that variable load really affect the frequency characteristics at the input. That is the variable. Really ultimately a power amp should be diesigned for a pre amp not visa versa. So again many variables, one of the most critical being gain. You have to put the extra voltage gain in the power amp that is missing from the pre amp to design for a passive. If you think about designing for a passive, as long as you are not looking at buffer amps around the VC, it is like just putting the cables at a different point in between the gain stages. An amplifier system is just a series of gain stages getting more and more toward current drive as opposed to voltage drive as you progress through the system.

Again because of load characteristics valve power amps normally benefit from a passive and most transistors amps do, as long as you realise you will lose some power. BUT as most pre power systems are designed to voltage clip at about 6 to 7 o'clock on the VC relative to the design load there is no real disadvantage, in fact you get more control in that situation as clipping comes in latter subjectively. When you have a very skillfully designed system solution as is present in Naim systems you should go carefull in how you interfere with it as it will change the results considerably. Personally I would not use a passive with a Naim, but that is just my gut feel. But to be honest I have never tried nor do I know anyone who has. You can try it yourself and send it back if you don't like, and solve the problem for us and publish the results here.

Richard