Control volume with DAC or Preamp?

Adurerca- I did that and it sounded very good.  But I wanted to use a turntable and a tuner so I needed the additional inputs.  I started looking for a preamp that would be like connecting my DAC to the amp, give me the necessary inputs and accept balanced cables.  The Benchmark checks all those boxes.  Sounds about the same with the Benchmark as a direct connection to the amp. 

I have a PS Audio BHK preamp and DirectStream DAC.  I set the DAC at 100% and control volume with the preamp.  Works for me.  

I have a pure analog McIntosh system were I often control the volume using the MC2600 power amps gain controls and the 31V preamps volume control.  I can fine tune the listening level better that way. 

If the preamp is an analog volume control, potentiometer or relay-driven voltage dividers, that would be preferable to the DACs volume control, which may be playing with bit depth to achieve that function, leaving you with less than bit-perfect audio.  Set the DAC to full out or just below and use the preamp.
 

Preamp