Bel Canto DAC3 without preamp

First I think if you put a pre into your system it needs to be a good one. I put a Aesthetix's calypso pre into my system which I thought improved the music. It became more natural and full sounding more like live music. If I did lose any detail i did not notice it. Try it and see what you think. I would suggest trying some tube pre's. There is lot's of previous discussion on this topic.

I demoed your amps & dac3 direct into DeVore Nines. Then we added a Manley Shrimp pre. We also tried a Manley Stingray integrated in place of the amps. In all cases both the salesguy and I preferred the sound with the tube preamp sections in the chain. They added dimensionality and palpability, just sounded more like music.
Of course, somebody might argue, that tube distortion is pleasing to my ear, and I can't definitively disagree. Thus, I'd say that if you can demo a good tube pre in your rig, it would be worth a try. Cheers,
Spencer

hi, I have the bel canto cd2, dac three going into rogue audio m150 tube monos, it sounds great, but I have heard a audio research pre amp ,and the pre amp gave the sound more body, and was less flat, and more dynamic. so listen for yourself, good luck. chrissain

i have the DAC3 and plinius 100MK3. pairing without a pre-amp sounded great, although I used one in my system