Wadia CD players direct to power amps opinions

I have been trying to use a 302 with tube amps and have come really close with some old high power tube mono's. Did all of the audiophile things but the sound just kept drawing attention to the audiophile aspects of'sound'. Not bright, but just a tad too crisp. Huge sound stage, great bass etc. I think if I loved rock etc I couold do it. But for jazz and classical I'm not there yet. Sounds flows more smoothly using a pre-amp, ergo it becomes more 'musical'. I haven't given up though - the promise is just too much to resist.

Bombaywalla, thanks for the confirmation that I'm not losing my mind :) I continue to be amazed at how much better my system is going direct; the GNSC Statement Wadia 861se is just amazing; I can't even imagine what the 9 stack can do.

I don't think I'm adding much here as it looks like the topic is well covered, but from the Supratek threads I have yet to hear anyone say their direct system got worse adding a Supratek pre to the chain. I would think people with Wadia could afford them, soit is a viable option.

I was running straight for 5 years or maybe a bit more, albeit with a much lower quality CD Player, added the Supratek, and then there it was! I became a convert as well.

Maybe someone with a Wadia who is running straight to amps (and who likes it that way better) who is near someone with a Supratek can set up a listening session borrowing the Supratek and both parties can listen to before/after?

Remember its not that you don't need a pre, its that without an external pre the CD player has it inside. By pre what we are really talking about is increasing the voltage (the other function is switching sources, which we are ignoring for the moment). So we are talking about comparing whatever circuitry is inside the Wadia dedicated to increasing the voltage of the signal post DAC to the external devices.

That said, its seems the Wadia internal pre is much, much better than other companies CD internal pre amps as they have focused on it as a design goal rather than an afterthought. Most CDs with internal pre amps really only have a couple of $1 - $3 devices inside them to increase voltage.

I have had a Wadia 850, 861 and now a Wadia581, i run it direct to my Jadis ja80 tube-monoamps. i did make a compare with a Krell KRC-Hr preamp and also a Tact rcs 2.0 preamp.
I my opinion the direct drive sounds better.

Cable: Heavensgate Ultrasilence interconnect and powercable.

I am really enjoying the Wadia direct to my Audio Valve Tube amps and the if you wanted to add additional digital devices to take advantage of the high quality DAC’s you can. The benefit of the iSE version is built in pre amp with a truely highend CD/SACD player and 4 additional digital inputs which can accept signal's up to 96kHz, the disadvantage is you are limited

1. ST Glass Fiber Optic (possible the best for digital)
2. S/PDIF (BNC)
3. TOSLINK (MAYBE THE WORST)
4. AES/EBU (XLR)

You only have (1) of each. But hey it works, you put your money into a 1st class CD/SACD player with built in pre amp and it is very good high-end system. I know the are others whom may disagree but hey that is why there are so many other manufacturers to choose from you just buy into there pholiscy and what your ears perceive to be “THE LIVE EVENT” that we are all attempting to get as close to as possible.