DSpeaker Anti Mode Dual Core 2.0 Room Correction

I've only played it for a couple hours, not broken in or anything (does it need break in???). It is playing in analog mode b/t my preamp and amps. What I notice so far is that it really cleans up the bass - not as muddy or resonant. That is nice. It may be removing a bit of transparency though. Listening to Greg Brown - I seem to lose a bit of the granularity and resonance of his voice. I'm not entirely sure yet. I also want to try it out entirely in the digital domain, so its analog output stage is not included in the picture, nor is another round of A=>D and D=>A. Overall, so far, I find myself happy listening with it in the chain, but see that there may be some tradeoff. I need to try it out in a different position in the chain.

Putting it in the tape loop is an excellent way to evaluate the impact on the sound. For evaluation purposes , yo also have the option of bypassing the DSP and EQ functions.

Wouldn't you want it between the amp and pre-amp???

Putting it in the tape loop allows you to more easily bypass its A/D/A conversion should you choose to do so for some reason. So the tape loop may be the most convenient way to hook it up for evaluation purposes. If you find its A/D/A + DSP beneficial in all cases after an evaluation using the tape loopthen between pre and amp would make sense.

Also, between pre and amp, if you are using it as a DAC, aren't you bypassing your preamp's volume control (and any other benefits the preamp provides)?

No, you're not bypassing the volume control. And the bypass function is so easy to control from the remote (rather than getting up to change the tape loop setting) that it seems to be the way to go (b/t preamp and amp).

I wrote to the manufacturer and they indicated that the cleanest way to use the unit was to keep it in the digital domain (i.e. put it between the digital signal and the DAC) or to use it as a DAC/preamp itself with no other equipment before the amps.

FYI - the USB input jack is a mini - so it's not like many USB DACs we are used to. This would entail either an adaptor or a USBA to mini cable.