Control volume with DAC or Preamp?


My DAC (PS Audio Directstream) has a volume control and so does my preamp(Benchmark), of course.  What’s the best way to control the volume of my system to get optimum sound...turn the dac to maximum volume and use the preamp to make adjustments , turn the preamp to maximum and use the DAC for adjustments, turn each of them up part way? Or does it not make a difference?
wolverine1

Showing 1 response by jakesnak

I had a PS Audio DSD for almost 3 years, before going to the Emm Labs DV2 and Ref Pre. With the PS Audio running directly to my Classe' CA M600 I found the presentation far to edgy. (Dedicated circuits, great cabling) Not to mention noise! Run the PS Audio directly, without playing any music listen to your speakers while turning the volume up on the DAC. You will be amazed at the noise level! It should be dead quiet!  This indicates to me the pre in the dac is sub par. Depending on what gear you are using, I understand colorization. However, the right gear (what ever that means) Dac Pre combo is hard to beat. Its all about transparency. As George mentioned about bit stripping, I also was aware of the claim by PS Audio that there is no bit stripping. I find that hard to believe.
Within the next month I will compare the DV2 to the DA2 with the pre and see if I can detect any sonic differences?