Looking for excellent DAC without a preamp section


I am in the market for a new DAC for redbook CD, but it should accept up to 24/96 signals. Let's keep the price under $10k new or used. It seems that a lot of the better DAC's out there have built in preamp sections which are undesirable to me. Examples are the Wadia 27ix, EMM Labs DCC2, Weiss Medea, Camelot Uther, Audio Synthesis DAX Variable, Esoteric D70, and some others I am sure. All I want is a great DAC with 2 volt unbalanced outputs.
jazzdude
There are lots of great choices. I would recommend that you audition the Perpetual Technology gear (P-1a, P3-a with the Wright mods and the separate Wright power supply). Easily under $10,000 -- way under!! Sounds great, has received fine reviews. Meets all your criteria though I can't confirm the 2 volts out.

Others to consider are the Audio Note and Naim (if I recall, the older Naim 5's, but I may be misremembering).
I think that there is a Muse 296 for sale right now at about 12% of the price you are talking about. Upgradeable to 24/192 status as well.
Audio Synthesis DAX discrete doesn't have preamp section also Meitner DCC 6 doesn't either also the Meitner DCC 2 has a output which bypass the preamp section
I love my Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista Tube DAC. It outputs 24/192 or 20/96 with a switch on the back of the unit. It also has a digital passthrough and accepts SPIDIF and Toslink inputs. Great sound IMHO although I have not compared it to any other DAC's. Price is $2400.00 new. Not sure if there are many still available as it was a limited run.
The Weiss Medea does not have a preamp portion and the Theta Gen VIII is available without it.
Why care if the DAC has a variable output? You don't have to use it, and at unity gain the output stage is not really in the picture (to varying degrees). Most high end DACs do have a variable output.

Why discount a Meitner DCC2 or Wadia 27ix because it has a variable output? Especially something like the Wadia 27ix where the volume control is digital. At 100% volume, it is the same as no volume control. Being "out of the picture" may not be entirely true for DACs with analog volume controls.

Few standalone DACs do not accept 24/96 inputs. It is easy for them to do as most of the off the shelf chip sets support it. What is hard to come by is a 24/96 source.

Also, I hear Wadia has a new DAC coming out.....
I know there will be a lot of EMM labs recommendations (for good reason), but would suggest you should be sure to audition some of the most recent Audio Note DACs too - the latest generation (especially 4.1x) are exceptionally musical and are my own personal choice - for the $0.02 that's worth... The latest will be unfortunately hard to come by used but are a significant step forward in extension - particularly at high frequencies IMO.

In this range, there is a lot of great gear out there, so it becomes a matter of tastes and system priorities I think. Regardless, you shouldn't wind up with any glaring compromises regardless of which aspects you prioritize (assuming the selection is more recent I suppose)... so enjoy!
Jacob
Add to your list the Muse Model 192 DAC (a 24/192 DAC). Only about $4000 or so new.