Raysonic CD168 connects directly to Power Amp

Only you can tell whether the Raysonic sounds better direct or via your SF
preamp. It should be pretty easy to tell, if my Raysonic 128 (no volume
control) is representative of the breed. Mine sounds distinctly worse used
into a passive preamp than into an active (Aesthetix Calypso in my case). The
"direct" sound is transparent enough but lacks the body,
authority, and musicality I hear through the Calypso. I've not heard the 168.

I'm using 6DJ8 "Bugle Boy" tubes in the outer pair that feeds the XLR outputs
(the inner pair of tubes serves the RCA outputs, at least in the 128). I'm using
Morrow Audio XLRs and find them excellent, but YMMV -- there are plenty of
options out there. Good luck, Dave

I have those Amperex A Frames and like the Bugle Boys better, for what THAT'S worth :-)

In fact, I liked the poor pitiful JAN Philips 6922s better in the Raysonic than anything else I had tried until the Bugle Boys.

Dave