I'm new to this site and am impressed by the knowledgable people on here. I need some information please...I have a B&K pro 5 preamp without a owner's manual. I have read on another audio site a review stating it was an active/passive preamp. Am I missing something as there is no switch(or should there be one?) anywhere on the unit. As you can tell I don't understand what these terms mean. Help please?
This is from memory of selling the BK pre amp many years ago. You might want to call BK to get a full explanation.
There is an active phono stage. The line stage can be operated as a passive unit without any active gain stages in the signal path. However, there are buffer stages on the outputs of the line amp which will minimize the problems of any impedance mismatch normally found on purely passive pre amps.
There are no switches or buttons since this form of operation requires nothing of the user other than a bit of careful matching of components and cables. You want to make certain the line level sources you use have enough output voltage to drive your power amp to full power. You want to avoid high capacitance or high inductance cables and long interconnect runs. Actually, these are the same considerations (with the exception of driving long interconnects) you should give to any pre amp; so the BK pre amp works just like any other pre amp except with less parts in the signal path.