Wadia Owner - with or without preamp

I suspect that a lot of people who prefer to use a preamp with a Wadia are not operating the CD player at the upper range of its volume control. If you haven't set the internal switches that allow you to do this, you are not hearing the true capability of players like the 861. Also, some people might simply prefer the coloration that most preamps and additional cables add. The best advice is to simply try it both ways.

I'm going to jump in on the pre amp side of this debate. I have tried mines extensivley both ways. Call it a fondness for coloration or what ever. IMHO my Wadia sounds better through a pre amp. Which allows me to contour the music for my room. Also as you may know you don't get the full sound of a Wadia unless the volume is maxed out. So with a pre they recommend setting the volume to max, then using your pre to control the volume. In any event there are so many varibles that you have to decide for your self. Happy listening.
Woodman

I have recently added a Supratek to my system. Previously I was running the Wadia at 0.25V output into 750 watt monoblocks. The sound was great but quite dry. To keep the 861 in its sweet spot meant that the volume was either too low (when I really wanted to crank it up) or too high if I changed the dipswitch settings to higher levels. The addition of a tube pre amp has made all the difference. A really smooth, warm engaging sound, the Wadia running at 100% resolution and absolute control over the volume/resolution combination. Check out the thread titled "Pre amp deal of the century" for info on Supratek pre amps. For my system, addition of a pre amp has been wonderful.

27ix with volume setting over 90 (always) and directly into Mcintosh MC 2000 tube. That's it for me.

If you are asking based solely on whether one likes the sound better with or without a preamp, only you can answer that after listening to your choice of Pre.

However, if you already know you like the direct sound, but have more than one source as I do (Wadia 861 and VPI TT), and are wondering if you'd be compromising too much in sound quality for the convenience of switching sources, then I would agree with BTSTRG. The Placette Passive Pre is a good solution.

The Placette allows you to keep the Wadia digital volume at 100 (which makes a huge difference), and yet I do not notice any coloration.....at times I think I hear a coloration, but then when I A/B it again, I conclude that I'm just imagining it.

When I have a couple extra $, I may even try the Placette Active, just to see if it adds some dynamics. But if you like the direct no preamp route, I don't think you can go wrong with the passive.

Just my two cents worth.