Seriously, if your cd/dvd player has volume control as my Oppo does. and you own a phonostage with volume as my PS audio does, then you your issues are: -how to power a sub -how to listen to tv thru your system
A preamp sets the stage. My SFL1 Sig++ throws a stage with right and left, up and down and near and far. Its quite amazing with the right stuff. The Chesky Test CD is just frightening. ;)
I did quite a few tests using the ps audio DS sr dac straight into the PS Audio BHK amp or going thru a McIntosh C47 preamp, both using soundstring balanced ic’s.
There are some tuning steps you can apply to the dac. Best sound directly into amp is with attenuation on. Best sound going thru the McIntosh preamp is with attenuation off and volume is set to 85.
Overall, the best sound is when going thru the dac
generally a shorter signal path is better as long as you have the essentials for proper sound reproduction and a good preamp is one of them .it's critical for depth imaging and soundstage and helps you adjust the sound to your taste. the wrong preamp will degrade the sound and take you away from the sound you like. a preamp can soften a digital source and make it listenable tube preamps are the best for that . adding a gain stage with volume control allows you to keep all the volumes on other components like dacs at their sweet spot so it improves sound quality.on some recordings i keep the dacs volume high and the preamp low some sound better the other way around it's more flexible vs having no choice about the dacs volume.you just have to pick a high quality preamp that you like what it adds to your system.if you like your dac's output stage that much try a preamp from the same brand it will give you more of what you like.
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