A separate dac and preamp or a good dac with pream

I agree with Rockadanny's post above and also suggest you separate your pre-amplifier (or integrated amp) from your DAC for the best sound quality and flexibility. This means you can select the right unit for your application and upgrade, if needed, in the future. I do not like combining a DAC and preamp in one box.

Of course, I understand that having another piece of equipment on your shelf is a concern. Maybe a smaller size DAC's might solve the problem. I do feel that a separate DAC would improve the sound quality of your system. I suggest you borrow a DAC and give it a test.

Thanks Rockadanny and Hgeifman. The problem is I'm staying in a very remote area and there are no shops here. It's 175Km to the nearest hifi shop and also there is no such thing as "home audition". The people here does not understand it.
I bought all my gears "blind", basically all feedback from forums and web site reviews.
I am thinking of the Bel Canto 2.... or Teac UD503 as they are within my budget and also very highly regarded. Both also can serve as preamp. Looks like I've to get it blind again.
My current system is a30 from accuphase, with passive preamp. Source is sa8005 sacd (with lap top hot wired to sa8005 through musical fidelity vlink 192) and speakers are harbeth shl5+. The speaker was the reason for the start of my gear hunting again.

"I'd prefer to keep the digital signal separate from the analog for minimal signal disruption."

Uh?? Half of a DAC IS analogue... hence the name.

Separates vs integrated is a question of system sophistication and how well your speakers discern the difference in things like signal separation etc.. It's my opinion that you get a very good bang for the buck in moderate systems.

And the home audition thing sounds great on paper but not very practical for most. I would suggest taking your time and buying used at a good price. It's kind of a pain in the arse to resell but the best way to build a system of components that sound good in your home at about half the price of new.

Thanks Lokie.
OK, looks like most people here in favour of keeping the dac as a separate.

TEAC is coming up with the latest UD503 with the latest DSD capability etc. and this would give me some years to hold on, problem is, it's so new that there isn't any review at all. Any dac around $1500 price recommendations?

I am a retiree and cannot keep changing gears like before. The digital era has almost mature, based on what has come out in these 2 years. Everyone is talking about PCM and DSD, doubt there would be anything new for the next 5 to 10 years.
Thanks again.

"dloubt there would be anything new for the next 5 to 10 years"

Oh, boy; I think you'll be shown wrong on that one. ;) The pace of change is accelerating, not decelerating. I would venture we may have more than one technology/application for audio not even conceived of yet. Ten years is a long time for technology now.

I'll take the contrarian position in that one of the most stunning rigs I have ever put up, either as a private listener or reviewer, currently utilizes DAC with preamp function run directly into - who would guess? - a pair of class D amps! It's a wild audio world, and changing all the time. You simply cannot make a system which will be largely impervious to the performance erosion due to technology advancing. However, to your point in the OP, you can build very satisfying systems either way, with pre and DAC or DAC with pre function. Of course, the result depends on the quality of the gear. With good selection of gear and system building one method can trump the other. There is so much variance in performance in systems that it is not possible to ensure that one method over the other is superior.

Rockadany, "minimum signal disruption"? I would suggest that adding an unnecessary component and set of cables could be considered unnecessary signal disruption, which is why integrated DACs are becoming more popular! ;)