Hi all, I recently bought a stand alone Amp and I’m controlling the volume through Roon. It sounds amazing but I’m wondering if I’m missing a better sound if I purchase a Preamp. I don’t need source switching or bass/treble/balance adjustments as all I have is Qobuz running through a UltraRendu to Chord Qutest to my amp.
Would love to hear opinions…
Roon’s volume control doesn’t degrade sound quality, so you’re not missing anything.
If you already have an integrated amp you aren’t gaining anything with a pre amp.
pre-amps generally are handy when you have a few stand alone devices requiring amplification. cd, lp, tape etc.
imo. enjoy what you already have. buy more music. 
Except the Qutest doesn’t have hardware volume control, so DSP volume is probably being used, and this does impact signal quality.
Moreover, it would seem that the Qutest is connected directly to a power amp, otherwise there would be a volume dial.
It does not, as it is implemented in 64-bit floating point and any errors introduced are way below audibility.
That is my understanding too. OP can clarify.
If your amp is not an integrated amp (i.e. has no preamp section) then you are likely to hear an improvement adding a preamp into the chain. I’ve been through this exercise many times comparing digital/DAC direct to amp(s) vs adding various preamps. Having said that, lots of folks are perfectly happy with digital direct. My best advise would be to see if you can borrow a preamp and listen for yourself before making a decision on purchasing.
Adding an analogue device (pre-amp) is quite likely to change the sound - for better or worse. In my system the pre-amp definitely improved things, but there’s only one way to find out…
I agree with @rrwmd. So when you borrow that preamp make sure it has balance, bass and treble that can be changed from the listening position. Mr. Dudley of Stereophile called balance control the soundstage controller. I also have the Qutest DAC and M-scaler. Preamp is McIntosh C49. You can get a 60 day trial of the C49 from Crutchfield. Happy listening.
So you can mess up the sound to your hearts content?
Your ears can tell the difference.
Point taken. However, my meaning was more that the signal is no longer bit-perfect. Moreover, volume control is, from my experience, non-linear, and as a consequence I prefer to use a preamp.
As always personal preference usually means trying things for yourself.
If I remember correctly (I can’t check anymore), Roon volume scale is in dB, so the control should be perceptually linear.
Let’s not go off-topic too much, but I think you know exactly what I mean. The experience is not linear in Roon (or it wasn’t last time I tried.) In most amps, volume progresses proportionally rather than adjustments squeezed at the low end … because a logarithmic control is used.
Well, when was the last time you tried? Circumstances have changed over the years. Roon volume control is on a decibel scale now. And a decibel scale is inherently logarithmic.
AJ
Probably in byte size bites.
I’ve just given it another try, and yes, the same behaviour. 0-50% of the slider has barely no impact on volume.
In my experience I am as well controlling volumen with roon and I have not preamp
I did supress the ine I had with a better sojnd now
People say: the best preamp is No Preamp
If feasible……
Cool statement 
Totally depends on the power amp. Some are designed to have a preamp in front.
You don’t know what you’re missing. If you had a preamp and it sounded better going direct you had the wrong preamp IMO. Our chat rooms are full of statements by audiophiles unsatisfied by the sound of their components and sell them for the next thing. If you had a preamp capable of adjusting the sound you could have maybe saved that money. Different content producers ie. Deutche Grammophon, ECM, Blue Note, Columbia, sound differently. How could the producers of your non adjustable equipment adequately deal with this in an unknown room? They can’t and you as audio lovers should embrace choice.