Are higher end preamps worth the investment when you are only streaming Tidal & Spotify ?

“The Modwright pre 36.5 pre is definitely a pre I am looking at.”
@puffbojie

Found couple of listings for 36.5,

https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=modwright+36.5

@blisshifi

I know the info of my room is limited etc, but at first glance why do think harmonics would be a better fit vs resolution as it relates to the ARC LS28 and the ref 5 /s per my current set up?

Hello puffbojie!  If you are just streaming you don't even need a preamp. Most sttreamers with a volume control put out enough juice to drive a power amp. Save $$ and potential problems down the line. Streamer to power amp to speakers. My third best system is just DAC to power amp to speakers. Happy Listening!

I don’t see anywhere where you list the room dimensions and/or characteristics that requires Dirac to make it sound good — am I missing something?  There are lots more options than your NAD, and between its mediocre preamp and streaming capabilities you’re probably paying a very high price in performance just for Dirac.  With a budget of $10-$12k and considering the quality of your other equipment you could certainly do much better.  What’s up with the room???

Assuming based on your equipment you are looking for an analog line-level preamp.  In my experience, having a good high -fidelity preamp is very important in any listening environment.  Digital reproduction in general has certainly come of age as has streaming digital.  If you have really good resolving digital source devices, be they a good CD transport or music server or streamer, and a good resolving DAC, you can absolutely tell the difference between those sources as well as the equipment that processes them to your preamp.  Having every piece of equipment in the audio chain from the source to the speakers at the highest fidelity level you can afford will allow you to have a satisfying listening experience. In the digital world, I have found that minimizing noise and especially jitter has profound effects on the quality of the musical reproduction.  A high-fidelity preamp will allow you to hear the subtle differences between changes in your digital sources.