Any comments on DAC directly to Power amp with no

I ran my dac direct to amps and thought it sounded great until I added a preamp - no comparison in my rig. No preamp meant no midrange warmth and my volume lost too much resolution (berkeley dac and then esoteric k03). You lose res with every reduction in volume in (most) digital volume controls.

08-23-15: Cerrot
You lose res with every reduction in volume in (most) digital volume controls.Cerrot

Only if the Berkeley is below 75% of full output, it's called "Bit Stripping"

Your Berkeley Dac from the specs I saw gives out a massive 6v XLR or 3v SE. And your Sanders Magntec Amp only needs 2v for full output.

If you have to your Berkeley volume below 75% you get the volume down to where you want, this proves you have more than enough system gain without the need of extra gain that active preamp give.

And your Berkeley dac output stage would even have better drive than most preamps have.

So to get a valid idea you somehow need to reduce your system gain so the volume of the Berkely is used at 75% or over.

From what I saw on the Berkeley site you maybe able to change the analogue's amps gain setting from 3v to 2v somewhere (maybe inside)
"Unbalanced analogue output level setting: 3.25Vrms maximum, 2Vrms or lower recommended"

This then should allow you to use it's digital domain volume control at or above 75% of full output which maybe change your opinions about loosing resolution and "warmth".

Cheers George

Hgeifman,

Resolution aside, even if that is not lost, adding a good pre-amp, at least for me in my system :-

1. fleshes out instrument body
2. adds warmth to lean recordings
3. enlarges soundstage in all dimensions
4. adds weight and foundation to orchestral performance
5 improves tone and timbre of instruments
6. improves instrument placement, imaging and separation.

I simply can't go back to not having a pre-amp.

As usual, the proof is in the listening, so to echo what others have wisely said, try it both ways before making a decision.

Happy listening.
Cheers! J.

The "perfect" preamp if there ever has been one, has always been said to sound like a piece of wire with gain, not adding or taking anything away from the sound of the source

And this is what a direct source to amp connection will sound like if done right, adding nothing or taking nothing away from the sound of the source.

If you need to colour the sound to your liking then by all means add a preamp that will do this, but good luck on finding the right colouration, as they all sound different, and it will get very expensive looking for it.

The right way is to change the source, speakers or room treatments to achieve this, to get the sound of your liking, not by adding more colourations.

Cheers George

Hgeifman,
Do not be swayed by comments on either side of this debate. Trust your own ears and make your own decision as to what makes you happy. It's your money to spend and you spend it to make yourself happy.
Many well-respected reviewers in the audio press have indicated their personal preference to go with or without a preamp with respect to the specific dac under review.
It all boils down to system synergy. What works for others may not work for you and vice versa.
J.