Best Preamp - NO preamp... (?)

Dear ami,
Hi-Fi transparency can only be relevant to and very often at the price of tonal balance and dynamics. 

RE: What is "better"? that is something I can't argue with. If you like the specific distortion or the coloration that a component introduces, then by all means, go for it. I am on the search for "Hi-Fi" - transparency and not coloration. I am of the opinion that if you need to add a preamp to make up for your speaker's deficiencies, you should be looking for better speakers.

You can't be sure unless you compare the transparency of preamp vs. your source device directly to amp. The fact that you've chosen to use your source components directly instead of passive preamp speaks for itself that you like more active drive vs. anything else posters offered.
That's where simple math kills all the science behind.

It's been  that way 20 years ago for me and it's probably the same for many today. A DAC ( or CD player) directly into a power amp is the best route. People buying new DAC's today should look for the best one they can afford and make sure it has a simple gain attenuators on it and correct matching ( sensitivity) to your amplifier; case closed!

Tomcy6,
Agree! In theory "less parts" should equal better sound. In reality it doesn't always work out that way. Must be determined individually case by case.
An absolute "case closed" rarely if ever applies to audio/sound quality issues.
Charles,

For me... bypassing the preamp has always been my "sanity check" for what the preamp is really doing, or not doing for me.  I've never heard a preamp be MORE transparent than NO preamp.... but it often adds a little something here or there that is desirable..... but of course it's still a necessary part of the system.   So you just gotta find one that has colorations that YOU like or that work in your system.   To this day.... I still have not found an AV pre/pro that I like better than my old Anthem AVM-20 for it's analog pass-through.  I've tried 4 different $2-3k pre-pros whose analog performance was terrible..... just to convince myself that i was not crazy.... I plugged my Oppo blu-ray directly into my amp.. and it sounds GREAT...... therefore.... I know for a fact that the analog pass through of the new pre-pro sucks.  My Anthem is not perfect... but it does sound very good.