Is it severely degrading signal quality? No, but it can be improved upon. See my system. I thought it worthwhile to add the external preamp, even though the 5800 is still in the loop. For some reason, the power amp sounds better driven from the preamp than from the 5800. It probably has something to do with the power and pre-amp both running in balanced mode.
That said, if you try out some good cables, you might find you are happy enough with the sound that you don't need an external preamp.
If you are thinking about upgrading your speakers, I would do that first. It will make more of a difference than a preamp.
That said, if you try out some good cables, you might find you are happy enough with the sound that you don't need an external preamp.
If you are thinking about upgrading your speakers, I would do that first. It will make more of a difference than a preamp.