Is pre-amp getting killed?


Hi,
   I'm in the market for the Pre-amp and DAC. I had the PS audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre-amp combo and I sold that to go separates. I thought of buying PS audio Direct Stream DAC and Audio Research REF 6 Pre-amp. I started doing research and spoke to few dealers. Below are the recommendations I got,

1. Bel Canto EX DAC
2. Simaudio 390 Network Player/DAC

3 dealers I spoke recommended to go with Pre-AMP/DAC/Network player combo instead of separate Pre-amp and DAC. Is pre-amp's are getting killed by the combo? 

Any thoughts?

Ag insider logo xs@2xkarurravi
I really like my PS Audio GCD and I’m sticking with it.  It’ll be my pre/dac/headphone amp for a long time.
I've yet to hear a combo DAC/Pre that compares to a quality separate DAC/Pre and I've heard a lot of the highly rated ones.
@hk_fan what would be your recommendation for the DAC and Pre for Dynaudio Confidence C4 speakers
with BelCanto Monoblock e600 amp
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