PS Audio DAC output

Bad idea!  The DL III does not have a volume control.  If you plug this into an input without volume control you will send full voltage to your speakers.  This would be the same as turning the volume all the way up on the integrated.  Do you think your speakers (or maybe even the integrated) will survive this?  Absolutely use the built-in pre.  As for the hard sound of the DL III (non-modified), it’s been a long time since I had one but I don’t recall it sounded hard at all.  Perhaps something else in your system is the cause of this?

As soon as I posted this I had a thought about your integrated.  Does the “Direct Input” completely bypass the preamp section as your post says, or does it bypass tone controls?  If you don’t know look at your manual, but if you are already using the “Direct Input” and the volume control still functions then you are just bypassing the tone controls.

Hi. The direct input is the shortest path on my integrated, the signal goes to an exclusive volume pot, then straight to the power amp (Yes, I still have volume control!). The whole preamp section is bypassed, even the normal volume pot, cause the pots are not the same.