Having packed up the preamp for shipment, I'm now sans preamp, and I'm starting to really like what I hear. Allan B, who sells /upgrades the Berning had told me that with the rest of my system being what it was, that a fully modded (i.e., wiring and cap upgraded) Berning would be "involving and developed" enough to run direct without a preamp. I said, "yeah right" based on every other experience I had running without a preamp (wadia, levinson, eg).
Well, now that's it's got some 80+ hours on it, it is starting to really open up. He and other who have done it say it takes 250-300 hrs to be fully broken in, so i expect it to improve even further. As of right now, maybe a little less sparkle than with the preamp - but you must also consider the deleterious effects of another power cord, another set of IC's,and whatever circuitry is in the preamp - no matter how good a preamp it is - the system is really clean now, yet still obviously posseses that little bit of tube warmth the AA and Berning supply - sort of the best of both worlds (clean and detailed like SS,immense soundstage and timbral accuray of tubes)......
I think part of my being able to run this way was the addition of the very capapble audio aero - which also has a very fleshed out believable and inviting presentation - not dry or sterile at all - so there's less for a preamp to "correct." Again, i have no way of knowing how much of what im hearing is attributable to the berning wire mod, or the AA breaking in - likely both.
I certainly will add a preamp someday, just not rushing into things (for once).