I have not tried the new dac1 preamp but I do use my benchmark dac1 to control the volumne. I have a adcom 5 disk cd player I use as a transport and the dac1 to my pass labs aleph 3 and my velodyne hgs12 subwoofer. I have totem model 1 for my for monitors. The sound is incredible! a very simple 2 channel setup. I do not need anything else, I only listen to xrcd and cd's. mostly jazz and clasical and guitar and a little rock. I have a music/ office room. the dac1 preamp will be more flexible when having different components but I love my dac1, I also have done the cone mods to the dac1
