I love the Opus 21 too. I just installed a new interconnect using the DIN out on the Opus 21 and the improvement was clear. With the Opus 21 you can run direct to your amp with the built-in volume controls or bypass the volume control and run it into a preamp, although using the volume control and running into a preamp certainly was not bad either! Very nice conponent! Organic, dynamic, fun to listen too, smooth too. Bettered my EMC-1.