I’m very saddened by the temporary 
loss/step-away of our community’s golden eared sound savant and I will not utter his name so that he may take the well deserved break away from audio and our pestering questions he desires.
Since the sound signature changes are fresh in my mind I would like to document the small changes I noticed between the Goldpoint SA4 passive stepped attenuator and a PASS HPA-1, HP amp being used as an active preamplifier in my smaller test-bed system.
Power for the front end comes from PassLabs upgraded outlet @ the wall receptacle, Furman Elite 15 power conditioner, Uptone audio Fiber to Ethernet converter w/ Sbooster power supply.
Cables are a mixed concoction ranging in cost from $100ish to $375ish MSRP ea. basic upgrades IMO.
Front end streaming service is either ROON or Innuos Sense software using Quoboz and Tidal. My personal preference for a very small Sound Quality performance win is the Innuos Sense software BUT the ROON is a superior music finder so I switch to it more often than not passing on the small SQ gain the Innuos offers to my ears/senses.
My aging but very solid streamer is an Innuos Zenith MK3 feeding one of the very last Lampizator Baltic 3 DACs produced before the change to the B4. The USB cable needed for the Innuos is and will always be an FTA Callisto, my favorite pairing between the 2 units for the best Sound Quality and performance IMHO. (I have tried multiple DDC’s in the past and my preference for the grandest soundstage performance repeatedly is direct USB feed via the FTA Callisto 
. I am sure there are BNC or AES and DDC combos that others find wonderful but for now I’m done experimenting and searching them out)
Amplification is a pair of older Alan Eaton 45 mono blocks and speakers used are older Spatial Audio M4, triode masters along w/ a baby REL sub.
I liked using the Goldpoint passive attenuator and if ever need be I would consider their products, this unit was a loaner and I was excited to try it for a few weeks. The Goldpoint did NOT offer much if any color, weight, or significant and noticeable change to the SQ
once added in line. Over the past few weeks I pulled it in and out of line and was able to compare it somewhat easily to the amplifiers playing direct off the DAC.
My preference for ease of use was absolutely to add the passive attenuator and use the knobs on the amplifiers to adjust gain. This allowed me to finely tune the image between the 2 speakers best, It also allows me to adjust the gain on the amplifiers so that clipping and distortion at the maximum volume I enjoy is never an issue. Since the Goldpoint SA4 did not seem to affect the musical sound output much one way or another I had no qualms or issues with it and nothing negative to report. I used matching Cardas RCA cables to reduce any variables mismatched cables might make. it was a pleasant experience to use a passive attenuator that basically maintained a neutral sound character in the system, I prefer to have a remote for fiddling with the volume while I listen but ROON offers the nice DSP feature of the ability to allow the software to match the volume between various tracks and albums and I decided to try that out too which worked well for me. Solid worthwhile experience across the board. 
In the past I have recommended the PASS HPA-1 as a nice dual use unit, it makes for a solid HP amplifier but also works well as a pre-amplifier and I stick to my recommendation w/ one update. The PASS unit brought out just a touch of very pleasant warmth along with enhancing the already exceptional weight the Alan Eaton 45’s normally exhibit. 
The PASS unit was NOT as neutral as the Goldpoint passive unit, it was by no means “hard colored”, and I had to use a variety of tracks and spend considerable time going back to listen to make sure I was capturing the sensations correctly. I could not catch much character change beyond the added bit of sweetness and warmth in the midrange and upper bass regions of the musical output. The sense of space, detail, etc. was not altered any that I could tell in my set-up and it maintained the excellent characteristics that are currently present. 
Dollar for dollar the only feature lacking is a remote, the PASS HPA-1 allowing for dual use in a system is a great value that will require heavy sums of money spent to beat, possibly thousands more to get any appreciable upgrade beyond what it can provide for systems relative to price points. It would not necessarily be my first choice if the speakers or amps I were using were in excess of $20k units but honestly for many scenarios of the type an average HP and 2 channel enthusiast finds themselves in the PASS HPA-1 really does offer very solid value relative to funds invested
I hope to see more write-ups of pre-amplifiers in this thread if possible, comparisons based on your experiences, pictures and general knowledge and experience gained with units for use as reference by folks looking to vary their own equipment. Happy listening all 
Gratuitous pictures included for reference and your viewing pleasure 
