Is no preamp really better that a good preamp?

"Some folks will opt for color over originality."
Not so - not PM or a whole lot of many others. It all boils down to whether there is an improvement in the listening experience.

Fully agree with Almarg :-
"Of course, depending on the specific designs introducing a preamp between the DAC and the power amp could either resolve such a problem, introduce such a problem, or make no difference."

Can we thank Almarg for finding that interesting bit of information?, yes we can. It is good to know that a preamp still has its uses. Some of you have been corrected, don't need to mention names but you are forgiven.

I also will stand corrected that an active preamp may help if, the source (dac/cdp) has a power-supply problem in it's analogue stage(as PM states) not by just adding colouration, or as I have mentioned it's output stage/impedance and output voltage is not up to the task.

For myself if we have this kind of source with these types of problems that has a VC, I can't think of it being hi-end or been designed right, better to me to change it, mod it for something that is.
How can an audiophile live with his/her source knowing the analogue power-supply stage is not doing it's job (as PM states)

PM... Imagine we have a DAC with an identical output circuit to that of a preamplifier. How would this respond driving a power amplifier directly? Theoretically as well as a preamp and, perhaps, better because we haven’t another component in the mix. But here’s something you may not have thought about.

DACs are significantly more sensitive to power supply changes and noises than preamps. When an output stage struggles to drive a complex load, it is the power supply feeding its output stage that sees these changes. If this occurs in a preamp, it has little effect. But that same situation, when applied to a DAC, has very different results indeed. Small changes in power supplies have big impacts on sound quality–especially jitter.

So this is one reason, and there are more, some preamps can help a DAC.PM

Cheers George

The suggestion then is for PM to redesign his DirectStream such that it sounds better direct to power amp, without need for the Aesthetix Calypso preamp? Poor PM - just to please some dogmatic.....

If you read carefully, not once did he refer the analogue power supply problem to his own PS Audio DirectStream DAC.

I found that DACs with no-loss digital volume controls

Cheers George