Running DCS Vivladi DIRECT?

Shadorne,
Yes, exactly ! I'd expect two different presentations with preference totally dependant on the particular listener. Which sonic flavour appeals more. Subjective by default,  the gift of High End audio. 
Charles 

Yes two different sound will be presented.

1: Either better with preamp, and not so without, which means to me, don't like the sound of the source.

2: Or better without preamp not so good with, which means to me don't like the sound of the preamp.

Cheers George   

Time to report back on my experiment with comparing the Vivaldi DAC direct vs via my ARC Ref 40 preamp. The full description of my setup can be found in my virtual system but the key things today is that we were comparing two different analog outputs from the DAC to my VTL MB450III

Path A was my usual setup

• DAC to ARC via 2M Single Ended WEL Signature
  
• ARC to VTL via 10M Balanced WEL Signature

And Path B was direct

• DAC to VTL via 10M Balanced WEL Signature
  

The DAC is set at 0.6V output and the VTL has 0.775V input sensitivity

All levels were matched using pink noise (Stereophile test CD2 track 15) and incidentally my listening levels for the tracks were between 9.5dB and 14dB cut on the DAC

Four tracks were used for comparison, all CDs 16/44.1 upsampled to DSDx2

1. "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Nancy Harms from "In the Indigo"
2. "Old Coyote" by The Weepies from "Hideaway"
3. "Jardin d'hiver" by Stacey Kent from "Raconte-moi"
4. "Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe" track 1 from "Bach in Jazz" by Stephan-Konig Trio

All are tracks I know intimately

Overall it was an interesting experience with as some have suggested two different presentations. If I use Path A (via ARC) as my reference the direct route was in comparison definitely more analytical, arguably clearer but with some important caveats

On the plus side

• Preserved full soundstage width, possibly sounding even a fraction wider?
• Very analytical ie. ability to distinguish artificial reverb on the Harms track vocal
• Greater clarity on individual instrumental lines e.g. different elements in a percussion kit could be followed very well
• Seems louder than the route via the pre-amp (note they were level matched)

But a number of significant negatives

• Overall homogeneity to the sound, the instruments all tended to sound like one another
• A sense of compression (matches with the perceived louder)
• Tensing up on peaks - especially male vocal (e.g. the Bach track) which sounded forced
• Massive collapse in soundstage depth (maybe 20% of the perceived depth conveyed via the pre-amp) -- especially evident on simple miked track like the Bach where its key to keep the scale and relative position of each instrument distinct -- direct they all seemed to be on top of each other
• Some tailoring at both frequency extremes -- bass seemed less deep, very high treble (supertweeter range) seemed to be missing

So if I was in a studio and doing a mix I might prefer the direct but for recreating the sound of real musicians in space the pre-amp is definitely adding something -- I don't know if its coloration but if it is its a very beneficial one. I think the massive power supply and ability of this pre-amp to swing peaks while still preserving the lowest level details (i.e. the soundstage information) is actually what's making a difference here

I can understand that others may prefer the direct path, arguably my Magicos sounded more like classic Magicos going this way that's fine, and also bear in mind that my entire system is built and optimized around including the pre-amp

@folkfreak

Yup - ARC preamps tend to add depth to the Soundstage. I have heard the difference myself on an ARC Ref 6. I think the tubes do it as my Mcintosh tube preamp does the same vs SS. I know there is added harmonics (in minuscule quantity with ARC) and McIntosh is even more lush or warm than ARC. At the end of the day it is what works for the listener - lose some resolution but gain some musicality!

One quick addendum (albeit from audio memory)

I previously noted a difference between the balanced and single ended outputs on the Vivaldi and my preference for single ended. The difference manifest as somewhat of the same sense of compression and homogenization noted in the direct so perhaps this is largely a function of how dCS have implemented the balanced output (perhaps another amplification stage). 

I did not see any difference in soundstage however between the two connections when going via the amp -- so as @shadorne suggests perhaps that is an (artifact) of the pre-amp 😏