Please recommend CD player w/volume under $5500

The archives have a number of threads on the subject. While the idea of going direct from source to amp is pleasing from a conceptual standpoint, it is a matter of execution, and I have yet to find one I prefer without preamp. Personally, I have found that dynamics are almost always better with a preamp in the chain. CDPs using a digital volume control can be weak at low volumes. With an analog output stage, the question is one of power supply (if done well, it becomes a straightwire to preamp, as if you hardwired the output stage of your CD player to the input stage of a preamp). So far, the best CDP w/ volume control I have found is the EMM DAC6e/CDSD combo (but I have by no means tried everything). While very transparent, I still prefer my preamp in the chain... but I guess with all these types of decisions, in the end it is a matter of taste, and perhaps I just enjoy the colorations provided by the preamp :^)

Owned the Wadia (briefly due to reliability issues) and tried the direct connection to my Lamm M2.1 amps bypassing my Lamm LL2 Deluxe Preamp. The sound seem very good initially but somewhat mechanica on some sourcesl. Also I kept feeling I was missing something after prolonged listening. Reconnected the LL2 and everything was more musical instead of the mechanical presentation previously. By the way, I'm using Concert Grand SI as well. Now running with Lamm L2 reference, M1.2 reference, Siltech Cables and Esoteric X-01 Limited SACD/CD. I may try the Dodson or Weiss DAC in the future. I suggest you try the Esoteric X-03 and a good tube/hybrid Pre. Otherwise my vote... keep the Preamp!

Oops. I meant to say DCC2/CDSD. I have not tried the DAC6e/CDSD and cannot imagine why I wrote that - could be that I had recently read Oneobgyn's review...