The Best Preamp is no Preamp?

Personal Experience, Trying many possible methods DAC to Amps with various Dacs and Various Amps.

Final Conclusion: Pre-Amps is Required.

Some Dacs have Pre-amps built into them like Playback Design and MSB and various others. However much these companies claim their pre-amps are superior to use directly with Amplifiers the final results is never as expected.

The Pre-amp is the heart of the system, all devices are connected to it except the speakers. It either makes or breaks a good sounding systems.

A Tube Pre-amp injects life and soul into the system, iv not had much luck with SS Pre-amps.

Then the answer is, what ever works for you. No final concreate answer, many variables that will determine many diffrent ways.

As to me, Pre-amp is very very important, but of course you need a very good pre-amp otherwise possible answer would be to avoid it and go direct to DAC.

exactly, a good pre-amp in the chain always seems to work better.

from my personal experience, DAC direct to Amp sound flat and sometimes the bass just sounds even worse.

If i could save the money and go Passive or no Pre-amp at all i would have done this years back.

Whilst many on here claim no pre-amp is best probbably have not had very great pre-amps. You dont loose details by adding a pre-amp you gain more control on how that power amp works.

The sound becomes less Flat and more dimensional in space but if you going to use some El Chepo pre-amp then prob its best not to use one altogether.

At this rate i would say just buy Active Studio Speakers, Go Direct from DAC to Active Speaker and call it a day, you will get gobs of Detail and dynamics but at the expense of fatigue.

I doubt it very much, My MP-1 Pre-amp is a permernent keeper!  :-)