Now I get a clean, natural sound with all the preamp controls set at unity (midway, in the "12 o'clock" position)

The sound is natural and in my opinion the best for a passive pickup system.

I was shocked at overall how poorly made, how cheap this product felt, and how negatively it impacted my sound

The Preamp itself is great and makes my Taylor GS Mini with the K&K Pure mini installed sound fantastic!!