Either he has low efficiency speakers, or he is using the “DAC Level” output pad, which was designed so you could run the DAC directly a power amp. There is some sonic benefit from not having to use the pad.
I invite you to use the search engine and look up terms like “DSS noise” “Directstream noise” “DSS Hiss” “BHK 250 noise” etc. etc. My own was just in the shop to fix a problem with the video board. Seems like if there was something wrong with the noise floor they would have fixed that too…
Inquiring minds want to know 
I can’t speak to BHK preamps because before it came out I was already happily married 
to tubed preamps that I love.
I in fact have two preamps in use between my DSD and my monobiock amps, and in between them a balanced to single-ended transformer and a tubed EQ unit. I have high-quality cabling and the resulting sound is both flexible and very engaging, I much prefer it to the DSD directly into the amps or the DSD into the transformer unit into the amps. Either of those ways can sound great, the way I have it now though I prefer by a wide margin.
My audio chain is balanced out from the DSD (and NuWave Phono Converter) into the fully-balanced Decware XZTPRE preamp, balanced out into the Decware ZBIT, single-ended (adjustable) into the Decware ZROCK2 with 25th Anniversary mods, then single-ended out into the Decware CSP3 with 25th Anniversary mods preamp/headphone amp, then single-ended out into the Decware SE84UFO3 Monoblocks with 25th Anniversary mods. Adjusting the very considerable gain between the preamps, transformer and ZROCK2 can make many excellent soundscapes. The ZTPRE has a remote and dual gain for the inputs, and I use that to control volume and balance and leave the DSD at 100.
It’s amazing how inter-related audio topics can be. One thing brings up another… I’ve learned more with my post than I bargained for. A good thing.
Excelgam, your post was very clear in answering what I wanted to know. You added a good preamp and it improved SQ. You then upgraded to a better preamp and perceived the SQ to improve again.
Everyone in this thread (who has done it) has reported SQ improving with the addition of a good preamp. Unless there is a silent many not wanting to engage, I have the answer to my query.
Secondarily, I wanted to see if there were others who digitized their phono signal for live listening and were satisfied with the SQ. It seems I’m not the only one who has gotten good results from this approach and avoided the cost of a preamp. That is worth knowing. Getting leads on gear that might improve the digitizing results was a bonus.
Which approach I’ll end up with will take some research.
Hi, I love your username. IT geek here too.
We’ve been talking about the DS DAC and volume control etc here for years, with detailed input from Ted. Please take us at face value when we say there is zero loss of digital information as a result of the volume adjustments performed inside the DAC. There’s actually no way to turn off the volume calculations, they’re always being performed just with a varying multiplication coefficient based on what you have the volume set to.
It’s true though that if you reduce the volume significantly you are pushing the signal down so that some of the input signal can fall below the DAC’s own noise floor. That is one of the main arguments in favour of using a pre-amp.
The design of the volume control in the Directstream DAC does not cause any reduction in resolution it is also precisely accurate and unlike any potentiometer or stepped discrete volume control does not degrade performance. The BHK preamp has a unique way of controlling the volume by varying the gain of the tubes. It too does not degrade sonic performance.
Whilst I don’t see the need for a pre-amp, I have heard various pre-amps. The most recent was the Soulution 725, which is a high-end unit costing about $60,000.
There is a very good review of the previous model that explains what a pre-amp should do, and what it actually can do, but it is shaping the sound and it is very subjective.
https://6moons.com/audioreviews/soulution3/1.html
All this proves is that unless you try a pre-amp, you are not going to know if you like what it does to the sound, if you can hear any difference at all.
The 725 was in a vinyl-only system, total cost about $200,000, fairly mid-price for that dealer. I’ve head much more expensive systems, but that system was really something. The speakers were Sasha DAW, which kept the price down.
Steven, my logical mind tells me that no preamp in the chain provides the most unvarnished signal. That is certainly how Paul used to think and many still do.
A friend brought over the Benchmark LA4 preamp, which is reputed to not shape the signal in any way. It did not change the sound from the DSD DAC to the BHK 250 in the least, as claimed.
I assume, perhaps wrongly, that folks who see an improvement by adding preamps are hearing the signal from the DSD DAC shaped in a very pleasing way.
I do not see any problem with shaping a signal. Isn’t that what voicing is? I happen to like PSA voicing, that is why I like PSA components. When an orchestra conductor asks the violins to play louder, he or she is after all voicing the performance.
The fact that many folks with the DSD DAC find that a good preamp improves SQ tells me that for many, the voicing of the DSD DAC can be improved upon. Others may find its SQ quite satisfactory.
What I find hard to believe is that Bascom does not know why his preamp improves the sound for many customers. I’m not a designer, but I would think that he had to voice his preamp and when doing it had to have some sonic objective in mind.
So much depends on our speakers, our hearing and room acoustics. The many variables can drive an audiophile to madness, or to enjoying an adventure.
I choose to enjoy our hobby and the music as an adventure, else I have to up my dose of Clonazepan.
The reason BHK doesn’t know why the preamp improves the sound is because it’s not about the voicing. It’s about musicality, fullness, depth, and soundstage. “Voicing” is about tone.
I see what you mean. Voicing is the wrong word to use. It is about all of the things you mentioned. Aren’t those all things that go into a design? If BHK meant the preamp to be musical, full, deep and have a good soundstage I would assume he knew how he did it.
I think you hit the nail on the head with that post. Most people would agree that speakers are by far the greatest influence on the presentation of the audio signal and if they do the job well why try to add more colouration? I fully accept that there is distortion that people like, including from using tubes that emphasise the presence region at the expense of bass. If a pre-amp can produce an overall more pleasing sound, then fine, but I think it is highly subjective and risks having a negative effect on the sound.
However, it remains that you don’t actually need one and you can probably improve sound quality other ways. Pre-amps are likely to be expensive because cheap ones tend to be noisy and distorting and do more harm than good.
Benchmark have a reputation for making components purely to measure as well as possible.
And I don’t like any of their products…and that is probably why.
Necessary is dependent and subjective to your system.
For mine - no question the sound is sweeter, more musical, fuller, weightier with a preamp.
We keep chasing the sound, and keep doing stuff to improve it. The bhk does that in 
for me.
I friggin love it.
So Given the diresctstream dac in my chain , a preamp is necessary for me.
I don’t have a pre-amp. I have an all-in-one system and use Roon. I did a little experiment last year, taking the typical response of a tube amp (Prima Luna) and emulating it with Roon’s Parametric EQ. I also had the system’s DSP tightening up the bass using speaker active matching. So if there is frequency and phase-dependent change going on, you can do it with software rather than hardware.
If people think their speakers do all the right things to their music then Benchmark is a good choice, and they are popular. Quad amplifiers are probably just as good, more powerful and a lot cheaper, hence popular with Harbeth users for decades.
Users of Harbeth don’t look to amplifiers to fill out the sound. The speakers do that perfectly well themselves. It also makes no financial sense. My speakers retailed at £4,250 (I got a nice discount off that new), the latest model is £5,000. The BHK pre-amp is £6,300. So why would I buy an unnecessary component when I am more tan happy with the sound and which costs almost twice what I paid for the speakers?
Not a single person that I recall has mentioned what speakers they are using, which as far as I’m concerned is the most important thing.
I know of what you speak. I use Roon and equalize vinyl or streams that are good performances but have some sonic flaw. It is amazing how much control you can have if you know how to equalize, essentially create as you say your own virtual component.
However, it takes a great deal of knowledge to do it right. I’ve spent hours learning and am still a novice. I get by, though, able to cure even subtle sonic deficiencies but still learning how to expand the stage and similar advanced topics. It’s a lot of fun.
There is no substitute for good speakers. I had Martin Logan Expressions 13As and loved them, but very narrow sweet spot. I now have Focal 1038be and like them even better. Very good in all that counts.
I think what you are saying is that what the preamps in some cases can provide, exceptional speakers may already be providing in other cases. I had not thought of it that way but I see your point. The only way to know is to try a BHK preamp. With PSA’s no cost, no risk return policy it’s a no-brainer.
When I first got my DSD Jr. I plugged it directly into my power amps. I thought it sounded okay, but not as good as when I plugged it into my preamp. When I got my DSD Sr. I just moved the Jr. to another system and plugged the Sr. into my preamp, never trying a direct connection to the amps. It would take a minute or two to try it and perhaps I will.
Question, the Sr. and the Jr. have different output stage designs and all the kind words about the volume control on the DSD Sr. DO NOT apply to the DSD Jr., correct?
I think for people with more money than I have to spend on audio a pre-amp can become a thing of importance.
As that review said, first and foremost it must have “minimum noise, negligible distortion, wide frequency response”. Any failures in this regard are degrading the sound. To achieve that in a pre-amp that also provides gain normally costs a lot of money. Whatever tricks it does to the sound after that is clearly a matter of taste and dependent on the rest of the system, particularly the speakers.
I just don’t think a system is broken without one and the idea that a DSD DAC straight into a BHK250 should not be done - well, I’d take a screenshot of the DSD DAC web page and sue Paul for lying about the superb volume control!
Anyway, your original post was about switching your vinyl.
I have a fairly modest system by audiophile standards, although still a huge amount of money for someone on average earnings, and am of the belief that speakers are 90% of the sound. Next is having enough power to drive them.
I’ve always believed in a theory propounded about 15 years ago that digital audio will kill a lot of the audio industry, because for most audio consumers hardware components will become increasingly cheap and indistinguishable and the only thing to differentiate products will be software. It is simply what happened with business and personal computers from around 1990 onwards, to the point that they are now pretty much all the same and large desktop machines have all but disappeared. So the Cambridge Audio CXN v2 is a fantastic device for very little money and the dCS Bridge is probably the best streamer in the world and costs half the price of a BHK pre-amp (in UK prices).
Your main music source is Spotify and I seem to be the only person to have given that any thought, not least because it is used a lot in my house as well. For me it counts out Auralic that does not have Spotify onboard, even though otherwise I like and have used their products.
I can happily listen to a $200,000 system with a $60,000 pre-amp and much more expensive systems, and still get great pleasure from my far more modest system without any envy. It’s because I’m happy with my speakers and have ample power to drive them.
For me the audiophile side is vinyl. I’ve spent quite a bit on that and it makes no sense, but I enjoy it tremendously. I’m waiting for an EAR MM/MC PhonoBox to arrive shortly.
I have never entertained the idea nor tried it but my gut feel is one of no - but I get where you’re going. If one works then……