I can share my experience too, I tried to connect bartok directly to tube 2A3 monoblocks and compared internal volume control to Audio Note M5 tube preamp. I must say, its day and night, with tube preamp it sounds much better! Another level, more body, nature, better voice reproduction, it sounds more real and, of course, darker.
I think you can improve you system with good preamp. I would count good preamp with a price range similar to bartokās price.
Welcome Cooler. However I do think that there are a number of good preamps costing less than $15,000 or equivalent. There are several suggestions made in various topics on this forum.
I did this A-B test on the weekend
It wasnāt double-blind, dB-matched, fair, objective or peer-reviewed 
I just unplugged and replugged a few XLR cables
[Hyperbole alert] ā¦ no contest, particularly with bass and cymbals, better clarity and personal engagement at the lowish volume levels I listen at
Note this is with entry-level kit from each vendor ā¦ Bartok > SPL Phonitor 2 > ATC SCM19A ā¦ not Vivaldi through Allegri Ref
Net of net the preamp is staying 
But no generalisations; your mileage will vary 
To Peteās point, price means very little, as The Truth amply demonstrates. And I see we have a Phonitor contingent here!
Have you tried one of these Greg?
Talk about stripped down to the bare essentials!
Definitely stripped down. But I have not tried one. I used to own a rebuilt Lotus 7, a car for which paint was deemed an option because it added weight. I love minimalism, but I definitely need a bit more than The Truth offers.
I like that Bartok directly plays very much like ATC SCA2. But I still prefer the preamp with mine 50ASLTs. It is compliment to SCA2 (or to Bartok?:)). At least itās convenientā¦ and a little home-like))
It would be good to know.
Apologies for the delay on this ā last week turned out a tad busier than I had anticipated. Yes, I can confirm as above: Stick with whichever Output Voltage setting allows you to keep the volume control towards the top end of the scale. Should this happen to be 0.2V for night-time listening, that will be the way to go over a higher Output Voltage with a lower volume control (assuming we are talking quite low on the volume control).
Sweet. Thanks James.
Thank you, James.
I have a AN M3 preamp upgraded with all silver r36 OT, silver 2W tantalum resistors, BG WKZ psu caps etc and also liked more going with preamp. Better control, some spacial nuances are lost but tone is better, a bit more forward which i like, LF is shorter and more up-beat in comparison to deeper without preamp but with less control. Chamber classical music shines. Without preamp everything is more gray and boring emotionally although if you are new to audio you will like the more 3D presenation of pure DCS, but who cares about soundstageā¦
Hi,
Would it be possible to make a widget so when connecting DCS direct to compatible Power-amps you could dynamically change both DCS volume/output voltage and input voltage of the power amp, that way you could have the best of both worlds? Could connect over RS232 for example, I appreciate you would need partner amplifier companies.
I swapped my power amp for an integrated amp as I needed really low volume and occasional higher volume, it was far better to drive the volume from the mosaic app from a user point of view and whilst the preamp may add something I do miss the simplicity of the direct to power amp route that I had previously.
Please ignore if Iām talking total nonsense.
Canāt see this kind of cross-platform system automation ever happening, too many variables/vendors
Does your new integrated have a remote? I find it very usable to control volume via the preamp remote and everything else via Mosaic
You can change the output of your dCS gear, but you cannot change the input voltage of a power amp, unless it has a input gain control, to be set, not dynamical. Power amps have a input sensitivity, given by hardware ( = minimum input V for full rated output).
Indeed, I do have a remote. Using both is not quite the seamless experience that would be ideal.
Itās a shame to have a slick control like Mosaic, only to go hunting around the room for the remote, a slight problem I have noticed is that if someone turns the volume down low on the DCS and up on the amp and then switches source.