I run both my digital sources (Berkeley DAC and Esoteric X03SE) directly into my amps (after bypasing the preamp over a year ago) and have NEVER looked back. The improvement was staggering. I cannot possibly see how adding a preamp and cables between them and the amps would offer any improvement. I do use a preamp for my phonostage, FM tuner and hard disc recorder as I just can't switch cables for every source (and the FM and phono stage do not run the amps properly). I do switch cables to hear the dac or cd player or preamp and the inconvenience isn't a problem cause it sounds so darn good. I am not a believer of the term "no preamp is the best preamp".
