generally a shorter signal path is better as long as you have the essentials for proper sound reproduction and a good preamp is one of them .it's critical for depth imaging and soundstage and helps you adjust the sound to your taste. the wrong preamp will degrade the sound and take you away from the sound you like.
a preamp can soften a digital source and make it listenable
tube preamps are the best for that . adding a gain stage with volume control allows you to keep all the volumes on other components like dacs at their sweet spot so it improves sound quality.on some recordings i keep the dacs volume high and the preamp low some sound better the other way around it's more flexible vs having no choice about the dacs volume.you just have to pick a high quality preamp that you like what it adds to your system.if you like your dac's output stage that much try a preamp from the same brand it will give you more of what you like.
a preamp can soften a digital source and make it listenable
tube preamps are the best for that . adding a gain stage with volume control allows you to keep all the volumes on other components like dacs at their sweet spot so it improves sound quality.on some recordings i keep the dacs volume high and the preamp low some sound better the other way around it's more flexible vs having no choice about the dacs volume.you just have to pick a high quality preamp that you like what it adds to your system.if you like your dac's output stage that much try a preamp from the same brand it will give you more of what you like.