Obviously it depends on personal preferences and equipment choices. I am currently using an Ancient Audio Lektor Prime (it has one additional input and volume control) into a Deja Vu Audio 45/2a3 amp into Zu Definition 2 speakers. I like the simplicity; and to me the sound is fine - rich, full, detailed. (In the past I have also used an EAR Acute - with good results as well. It did not have the extra input, but it did have a higher output voltage which may be advantageous to some.)
connectng CD player directly to amp, good or bad?
Some CD players with volume control can be connected directly to power amp, bypassing pre-amp. Mark Levinson 39 and Mcintosh 301 can do that. When I mentioned this to sales reps at dealers, they were all skeptical. They said pre-amp/amp is always better or go for int-amp. I am not s sure. Mcintosh manual shows how to connect CD player to power amp directly and it makes better sense for me since I am not going to have any other source unit. If I need more later, I can always add pre-amp. Is pre-amp really necessary?