I have a Mytek Manhattan II that I tried as a preamp and it was good but not as good as my Audio Research LS-28 line stage. I use the analog volume control setting and that sounds marginally better than the digital volume control setting. Try it and see what you think.
Mytek Manhattan II as preamp
Is anyone using their Manhattan II Dac as a preamp and is it better than a really good preamp with great Dac? I currently have an Ayre K5xeMP preamp to my Mark Levinson amp but have a Mytek Manhattan II on the way and curious if straight Dac to amp will sound as good or better than Dac to pre to amp. Is the Manhattan II analog volume control that good?