Paul,
You have 3 options.
1) turn the volume control on preamp to max and use the sharp's attenuator.
2) turn the volume control on the sharp to max and use the preamp's attenuator.
3) turn both volume controls to somewhere in between.
Choose which sounds best. Theoretically, you want to use the preamp's attenuator because the sharp probably has a digital attenuator. Years ago, people say digital attenuator reduces resolution of the signal as it attenuates by dropping bits. However, this is probably a moot point with the sharp.
Also, my guess is the aux analog input signal is immediately a/d converted. So, it doesn't matter which attenuator you choose to use. It will probably sound different though depending on which attenuator you rely more on as the extra cable etc. you use with the pre will "equilize" the signal.
Lastly, because the signal coming in the aux is a/d/c, it probably does no good to mod the aux input. However, this doesn't mean you can't mod the sharp's amp section. Which leads us back to the digital amp gurus...