High end stereo preamps? Worth it?

My solution was Lyngdorf. No need for an upstream DAC. After years of SS and tube pre/power this is by far the best solution I found. My goal has always been to find the amplification system that acts like the proverbial wire with gain. Adding no sound characteristic of its own. The Lyngdorf is remarkably closer to that than any other hardware I've ever owned or auditioned. Even more remarkably, it's analog inputs are just as clean. You will hear what's upstream. If you like second order distortion, use a tube phono preamp. In fact not having to invest thousands in a DAC will allow you better upstream devices. Win-Win.

Atma sphere mp3 is interesting.

so many preamps to chose from.  A crap shoot. Most have no clue what they are buying.  Minimal info on internal build.  BLINDFAITH!!

a few preamps out there that seem to have more widespread acceptance. And overpriced of course.  

it’s all about the mix you bring to the situation. Preamp performance varies quite abit, depending on mix of components.  What a mess trying to decide.  Horrifying!! How can anyone make money selling this stuff??

Bring in Aesthetix preamps at any level. It will reveal what music is. :)

I never tried dac direct however have upgraded from a older Krell preamp to a CJ GAT 2 with everything being the same, big difference in sound; even wifey noticed and that’s saying ALOT. 

About two years ago I got a very good deal on a used Soulution 720 which includes the phono stage, and is a world-class pre-amp.  I can honestly say that this was one best system upgrades I have ever done, and that is factoring in the cost.  When I consider the value I got for selling my separate preamp and phonostage on Audiogon, this was a 4-figure upgrade and not an unreasonable expense.  The improvement on all of my sources was tremendous, but the phono upgrade ended up far better than I had expected.  To the OP's question, I think that the right high end preamp can make a VERY large difference in system performance.  However, it depends entirely on system matching and what specific role the preamp is expected to play.  That is my experience at least...