Unlike some of the other post-ers, I tried a Wadia 860 with and without a pre-amp, and I liked the "with pre-amp" version better. A dealer friend of mine explained some techno-electrical theory as to why one might be better off with a pre-amp, but I'm too dense about that stuff to know what's real and what's not, or to even articulate it. I can just say that the CD sound was cold and clinical and irritating in the highs (almost glassy) plugged straight into the amp, and was warmer and more "musical" (to my ear) with a tube pre-amp in the middle. Yes, I understand the theory that each thing you put in between the source and the speaker adds more error, but my ears tell me what they want, and I try to give it to them, theory notwithstanding, and they want the pre-amp, so they can have it. Trust your ears.
CD player straight into amps?
Hi, I was wondering if people could please provide their experiences with running their cdp straight into amps without a preamp in the middle. I had asked a few days ago about running the APL NWO cdp into amps but now I would like to broaden my question to include all cdps.
Thank you...
Thank you...