cdp digital volume control or preamp?

If you search 'passive' here at a-gon (classified not chat) you will find a couple of passive preamps so cheap they might be fun to play with, the Channel Islands and the Luminous Axiom. Just a thought. By the way Lousyreeds, tfkaudio mentioned that his volume control was digital but his question was not specifically about the pros and cons of digital volume controls but also whether to add a preamp. The thread seemed to morph in that direction. Thanks for being there to correct me anyway.

It seems to me that the digital volume control direct into an amp, in this case, is a little too bright and harsh. I am currently playing through my Birdland Odeon-Ag DAC with far more satisfying results. The drawback, as I have said, is that I can't play SACD in this configuration. I've played SACD's using the digital volume control, but can't stay in the room very long for all the harshness of the sound. If I play the redbook layer through the DAC, I'm happy to listen for hours. I'm hoping that the pre-amp will allow me to get the resolution of the SACD without the harshness.

Cheers.

In my experience, a preamp has always improved the sound - especially dynamics and 3D soundstaging. Give it a try and see! Arthur

Hello,
As a follow-up, I thought I'd let everyone know that my Blue Circle BC 21.1 pre-amp is in. The sound is way better than the digital volume control on the Music Hall Maverick, and it's not broken in yet.

Cheers.

Great news, congrats! Did you ever dally in adding an outboard volume control?