Need Help for Pre-Amp

I am not familiar with the Odessey amp, but my experience with the Wadia is that it's definitely not harsh. What you are hearing could be an impedance mismatch between the CD and the amp, an inappropriate interconnect or a somewhat serious AC power line contamination problem. I strongly suggest you explore these avenues before going the preamp route.

BTW, what speakers are you using?

Onhwy61 makes a good point. You should also check out the adjustable output.I had a 830. I didn't like it direct, but it was much better, smoother and less harsh, when I lowered the output from 4 volts to 2. The procedure was not in the manual, but Wadia faxed the info to me.

Thx for all the input.

There are some valid points. I dont have any kind of special AC power line filter or anything, maybe i should try cleaning that up a bit. I use TMC Yellow cable interconnects, and Audience Speakers (6 ohms 93db sensitivity speakers). Im going to try and lower the voltage settings on the Wadia also, and see where it takes me. I have no doubt on the individual performances of these products, but maybe they dont match ?