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Tubed cdp that can be hooked up to amp directly.

I'm looking for a tubed cdp that I can hook up directly to my amp (BelCanto 200.2). The dealer I've spoken to mentioned that while some cdp offer volume control that allows for this, the sound quality/loss of information is usually coupled. I'm not sure if he's referring to all cdp (we were looking at the Shanling), or just that one in particular. Does anyone have any experience with this and also which tubed cdp would you recommend for this configuration. I'm looking for something $2,000.00 or less (new or used) with emphasis on warmth, tranparency, detail, with sweet upper mid-hi.

Thanks

Mike
mhu

Showing 2 responses by lohkkw51e5

lohkkw51e5
13 posts
 
Gee, I've been so clearly outvoted here that I need to reconsider whether everybody else is right and I'm wrong. But if it's better to go straight from CDP to power amp, I wonder why more people don't do this, rather than spending a bundle on a preamp, quite often as much as the power amp. Many music only systems these days consist of only one source (CD), so why doesn't every CDP manufacturer provide 2 sets of analog outputs (one fixed and one variable) so there's the option of hooking up direct to a power amp?
lohkkw51e5
13 posts
 
I would recommend against doing that. Yes, with CDPs with volume control, you can plug it straight into a power amp and be able to control the volume, but it just sounds flat. From a purist point of view, you would think that the signal path is more direct by bypassing the preamp stage so sound quality should be better, right? Wrong! The preamp does much more than just switching between sources and controlling the volume.
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