Since I ventured into computer-based (source-)audio I've passed on hardware preamps. I guess luck, or perhaps even taste has seen to it that none of the poweramp/source-direct constellations that have gone through my setups have turned out less than favorable - i.e. where impedance/gain matching have tilted the sonics towards the anemic or body-less, something that is quite often reported to occur when named matching goes wrong. My current, and by all accounts future volume control option is 24-bit (preferably 32-bit in the near future) dithered digital attenuation via JRiver MC19; it works and sounds excellent. From what I'm able to assess it's not digital volume controls like the one I'm using right now that inflicts any character on the sound of the sort an analog volume ditto and associated component of the hardware preamp with cables as a whole would create, so whatever character arises with the use of a software-based digital volume control, insofar the poweramp/DAC-direct combo is an electrically suitable match, is more likely to be an "effect" created, and to be corrected elsewhere. This, at least, is my stance as is.
The future use of hardware preamps may maintain a certain level due to the continuing bloom of turntable/LP use. I'm likely never to return to analog, so the hardware preamp won't either.
