Agree and disagree with some of you. When I was looking at preamps I found that many of the high end preamps had just OK volume pots. When I was looking for a replacement volume pot for my preamp, I researhed what the manufacturers were using versus what was available as a "better" volume pot. It was intersting in also speaking with First Sound and what volume pots are in their preamps. So as much as this thread is about to preamp or not to preamp, you should check what volume pot is in your preamp first IMO.
Happy Listening.
Happy Listening.