Which DAC as a preamp?

tfats

Your going in the right direction for the most transparent/dynamic sound, by looking for a dac that has volume control in it.

But there are two ways this volume control can be done in a dac.
1: In the "digital domain" which to is best "if" the volume is not reduced too far, so to introduce "bit stripping" (a reduction is resolution), this can happen if the volume is reduced below approx 75%

2: A dac with an analogue domain volume control, no "bit stripping" problems with these. There can be impedance matching problems to an amp if the amp is lower than 33kohm input impedance.
The earlier Red Dragon’s had a low 12kohm input, they saw this error for some pre’s and the later MkII Red Dragon it’s said to be much higher (they don’t say how high) to accommodate these pre’s

Red Dragon: " Red Dragon Audio designed the M500MkII with customer feedback at the forefront of the process. Increased Input Impedance allows our amps to be paired with all preamplifiers - even the most esoteric tube preamps."

Cheers George

I once used a Chord Hugo TT (DAC and preamp) direct into monoblocks and it was not good. Proceed with caution - good luck!

More good information folks...thanks so much. I will pull the trigger on something within the next day or two, and we will be off to the races.

You may look at the specs of the new Pro iDSD  Dac from iFi Audio.
Volume control , solid state and tube mode ,even streaming ,2500$

It’s going to be really hard to find someone who can directly compare them, right?  I have a PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre and am happy with it.  I really wish it was easier to compare it to alternatives.