How good is the PWD DAC II Preamp Section

As far as my system goes, I also prefer running my DAC II into my preamp rather than straight into my amps.

The question was " How good is the PWD II preamp section?"

I do not believe that there is a preamp section, or any part of the analog output stage that can be bypassed by turning the digital volume control up to 100. Whatever preamp stage is in the DAC is still there and being used for the analog output. A good test would be, setting the volume at 100, then backing it down to 99 and see if you can hear any difference.

The new question is " I'm wondering if I can delete the preamp and just go direct with a superlative sonic result?"

This is a system dependent issue. As you can see, some users
prefer using a preamp. However, there are others that prefer
going the direct to amp route. The only person that can answer your question is you. Try it both ways and see which you prefer.

i had better luck with a pre as well. do not that several of the pre's i tried didn't sound better and two actually sounded worse imho.

synergy=happiness.

Here's a review by A. Cordesman of Absolute sound wherein he prefers direct to amp connection. Best is to try it, as many variables affect the sonic outcome, especially the amps and the speakers used as well as the room.

Good luck...

I believe Paul McGowan at PS Audio said absolutely no stripping occurs in the PWD digital volume control as long as the volume control is set above the 50% level.

My understanding is also that information loss occurs below 50%. I believe Paul McGowan says this should not be an issue at "realistic" listening volumes. With my system and listening habits I was below 50% more often than not. I cannot say for sure whether this or other factors explains my perception that my system sounds better with a pre. It does suggest that the 99% test proposed by Ska_man would not tell us everything we might want to know about performance of the pre section in the PWD.

Note that it may be pretty hard to A/B for the sonic impact of information loss -- say 40% v. 60%, because you cannot easily do a volume matched test (perhaps tweaking recording levels of the same source material might all it). One can, of course, match volume levels for pre v. direct.

Jhn