You haven't mentioned any of the contenders (dacs) or streamer(s)..
With that said, it's hard to give any kind of recommendation 😕
How to set up volume control on a DAC without a preamp
I am creating my system and trying to decide on a DAC. I don't have a preamp at this time and the preamps I am looking at are quite expensive. Several DAC's that i'm looking at doesn't have volume control either. Is it possible to set up volume control in ROON or HQ Player until I can get the money together for the preamp?