Hi Jax, I had the chance to audition the Vivaldi stack some two years ago plugged direct into D'ag stereo amp and honestly that configuration did not totally convinced me to pull the trigger right then and there---Let's just say, not moved. Came back to that Dealer six months later when they had the partnering D'ag pre in, everything went much better! Unlike during first encounter, I was no longer in scrutinizing mode for any of those infamous audiophile stuffs, but simply sat down and savored the presentations which to me (and a friend--who ended up buying the dCS stack) were overall more musically involving, convincing and believable. So yes, imo, even with SOTA digital rig, a top-notch preamp can/do make a difference, for the better in most cases.
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