Control volume with DAC or Preamp?

Thanks for all the advice.  I had been using the Benchmark LA4preamp at the highest volume and adjusting the listening  level with my PS Directstream DAC. As I mentioned, I heard a fluttering noise from the speakers while doing this.  I tried the reverse...DAC at full volume and adjusting the listening level on my Benchmark preamp.  The fluttering went away and the sound seems much clearer.   Both the dac and preamp volumes can be adjusted by remote control. 

Quite often the volume control in a preamp is better than one in a DAC

This statement is false, it’s 50/50, and in case of a tube pre it’s more in favour of the solid state dac output stage

Both the dac and preamp volumes can be adjusted by remote control.

You achieve nothing doing this just preamp colouration and extra distortions, and extra interconnects,.
Your basically running a preamp into another preamp two volume controls and extra interconnects, it’s always best to use all the source has to offer when it has a digital volume, which your case has two high/low preset gain settings in the output stage.
Use it direct into the poweramp, on either the high or low preset that allows you to turn turn up the digital volume to the top of it’s range for loud listening.

By going direct with your setup you basically achieve what Nelson Pass says here, forget the reference to the passive pre, you have one stage better again than this if you go direct!!.

Nelson Pass,

“We’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more.

Think of it this way: If you are running your volume control down around 9 o’clock, you are actually throwing away signal level so that a subsequent gain stage can make it back up.

Routinely DIYers opt to make themselves a “passive preamp” - just an input selector and a volume control.

What could be better? Hardly any noise or distortion added by these simple passive parts. No feedback, no worrying about what type of capacitors – just musical perfection.

And yet there are guys out there who don’t care for the result. “It sucks the life out of the music”, is a commonly heard refrain (really - I’m being serious here!). Maybe they are reacting psychologically to the need to turn the volume control up compared to an active preamp.”

Cheers George

I had a PS Audio DSD for almost 3 years, before going to the Emm Labs DV2 and Ref Pre. With the PS Audio running directly to my Classe' CA M600 I found the presentation far to edgy. (Dedicated circuits, great cabling) Not to mention noise! Run the PS Audio directly, without playing any music listen to your speakers while turning the volume up on the DAC. You will be amazed at the noise level! It should be dead quiet!  This indicates to me the pre in the dac is sub par. Depending on what gear you are using, I understand colorization. However, the right gear (what ever that means) Dac Pre combo is hard to beat. Its all about transparency. As George mentioned about bit stripping, I also was aware of the claim by PS Audio that there is no bit stripping. I find that hard to believe.
Within the next month I will compare the DV2 to the DA2 with the pre and see if I can detect any sonic differences? 

I had a DSD as well and a variety of preamps.  I considered scrapping the preamp because I know folks who were just using volume control on DSD.

I tried several A/B tests using the DSD vs an Ayre K5xeMp, PS Audio BHK Pre and Art Audio Conductor.  In all three cases, the preamps significantly outperformed the DSD.  I found the preamp stage on the DSD to be less than ideal though I hear it does better matched with PS Audio amps.  

The best connection is set the volume on the DSD to 100 and use the volume control on the Benchmark.  What you are doing by maxing out volume on the Benchmark and using the volume control on the DSD is probably giving you the worst possible outcome.  

Unless there’s some problem, the lowest noise is always achieved if you use all or most of what the source has to offer.
If not your throwing away source signal to ground (earth) with the active preamps volume pot just so the "gain stage" (that not needed) of that active preamp can make it back up again!!!!!

Nelson Pass tells everyone that here, why is it so hard for many to understand, (mental blocks perhaps).

Nelson Pass,

“We’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more.

Think of it this way: If you are running your volume control down around 9 o’clock, you are actually throwing away signal level so that a subsequent gain stage can make it back up.

Routinely DIYers opt to make themselves a “passive preamp” - just an input selector and a volume control.

What could be better? Hardly any noise or distortion added by these simple passive parts. No feedback, no worrying about what type of capacitors – just musical perfection.

And yet there are guys out there who don’t care for the result. “It sucks the life out of the music”, is a commonly heard refrain (really - I’m being serious here!). Maybe they are reacting psychologically to the need to turn the volume control up compared to an active preamp.”

Cheers George