Are Preamplifier’s Relevant Today or just a Hinderance with Digital Playback ?

it takes a heck of a DAC to have an analog section capable of robust drive and dynamics that a good preamp brings to the table- if you are plugging directly into a power amp and not an integrated.  
i need a preamp because I need tubes and that is where I prefer them.  
i cannot live on solid state alone.  it really does sound lackluster,  

An active preamp any day ,because of its power supplies and gain stage keeps a constant voltage and steady soundstage 
and imaging Rick solid .A passive preamp ,or direct from dac ,
doesnot present the control and stability of the signal voltage .
I have tried them all I am referring to a high quality solid state 
or vacuum tube preamplifier section .
in my latest purchase the Coda CSIB integrated amp. It Is a true Active class A preamplifier section with a tremendous 120 amps on tap for dynamic swings .It has a top notch amp,and preamp section  much better then direct from digital by a lot !!

it takes a heck of a DAC to have an analog section capable of robust drive and dynamics that a good preamp brings to the table-

Just about any good dac these days has an output stage equal to or even better than preamps especially tube preamps.
And you don't need anymore gain, we have more than enough in today's sources, use all the gain the source has, don't shunt it to ground, then make it back up again along with more noise and distortion added by a preamps gain stage. 
Cheers George

DAC is not accurate. DAA is proper. Dijitteral Analog Approximator. Clocking errors and jitter will forever be the distortion that, along with the irritation of odd order harmonics, keeps you forever on the merry-go-round. 
Stereo is an anti-social disaster perched on a little postage stamp in a large room because the rest is just waves and troughs. Put a Khorn in the corner run some tube gear and turntable and let the party roll, everyone gets a seat at the show even the cheap seats are good. George Harrison maintained until the day he died that you never heard Sgt. Peppers until you heard it in mono. 

@georgehifi,
we will have to disagree on that front.  my ears tell me otherwise and it isn't close.