A separate dac and preamp or a good dac with pream

"dloubt there would be anything new for the next 5 to 10 years"

Oh, boy; I think you'll be shown wrong on that one. ;) The pace of change is accelerating, not decelerating. I would venture we may have more than one technology/application for audio not even conceived of yet. Ten years is a long time for technology now.

I'll take the contrarian position in that one of the most stunning rigs I have ever put up, either as a private listener or reviewer, currently utilizes DAC with preamp function run directly into - who would guess? - a pair of class D amps! It's a wild audio world, and changing all the time. You simply cannot make a system which will be largely impervious to the performance erosion due to technology advancing. However, to your point in the OP, you can build very satisfying systems either way, with pre and DAC or DAC with pre function. Of course, the result depends on the quality of the gear. With good selection of gear and system building one method can trump the other. There is so much variance in performance in systems that it is not possible to ensure that one method over the other is superior.

Rockadany, "minimum signal disruption"? I would suggest that adding an unnecessary component and set of cables could be considered unnecessary signal disruption, which is why integrated DACs are becoming more popular! ;)

Thanks Douglas,
Agree, in certain sectors, thanks for pointing out.

However, for the average enthusiast like me on a budget, things don't look rosy as amplification are moving towards D or its hybrid, dacs are moving into higher resolutions and dsd, speakers are getting titanium and diamonds, cables are making its debut in every connection ....... AND prices are moving into the skies, sign :-(

I guess I better learn to get contented with what I have after this dac purchase. Cheers and enjoy the music everyone.

Cusco69, I can relate to the audiophile on the budget, for I was one for a long time. Shoot me a message here and we'll talk.

Well I'm a bit old school so I have a good CD player (Vitus) which is essentially a full dac with a transport & an integrated amp. I'm not a fan of dac-preamps as conversely they tend to be full preamps with a dac 'board' tacked on.

In my opinion I would get a dac that has output level control done in the digital domain, and connect direct to your amp. As this will be the most transparent/dynamic sound you can get from source to amp.

It would be nice to get one that you can set the max volume level, some have two/three or four setting done inside that give you a choice of output level, 0-2v or 0-3v output and I've even seen some that do 0-8v

What this means is you set it for your system so you can use it's digital volume control at and above 75%, so you don't run the risk of "bit stripping" it's not bad but can lower resolution if below 75% of full, on some cdp or dacs

Cheers George