CD with volume control/ no preamp.

Joe, I honestly wish you could hear my CD50 in my system, without a linestage, with the balanced interconnects. Ultimately, it is much better and more cost effective than separates (except for the dCS rig, coupled with a linestage like an ARC R2, CAT Ultimate, BAT VK-50se, CJ ART, etc). And that's about 10 to 15 times the cost of a used CD50. But...I would advise you NOT to go this route, if you don't already own more than 300 CD's, and might soon feel like you're being left behind by SACD or DVD-Audio (and do something like sell all your CD's). Personally, I enjoy vinyl very much, also. My linestage doesn't measure up to the rest of my system, and if I already had one of the very best linestages, I'd just try an upsampling DAC (Perpetual, Bel Canto, MSB, dCS). If you're made of money, just get the dCS, and a $20,000+ preamp...more power to ya. Hope you use ASC traps...the room is oh so important.

Hi Joe I just invested in Wadia 27i and a Cello Etude volume unit to replace my Altis reference 24/96 DAC and Goldumnd 27 preamp. Frankly speaking, the focus is not as good as my previous system (with the preamp), on the other hand the soundstage and details improve a little bit, with more transcient high freq. However, the downside is the pace/ speed seems to be too fast, slightly less involving than before. Anyway be aware that your CD source is having high gain output in order to drive a passive preamp/ volume unit. Happy listening!

I feel that the Resolution Audio CD50 would give the 777 a very tough time, when playing CD's. It only has op amps for the output stage, where the CD50 has bipolar output transistors, similar to what the best linestages have, and is designed to take full benefit of balanced operation, even when using only unbalanced connection (the SCD-1 doesn't do this, and I assume the 777 doesn't). The CD50's output devices run very hot, in class A. This thing is still knocking on the door of the performance of my analog rig, with a Benz Lo4 cartridge (which is in turn blowing away the Glider I used to have). The MIT balanced interconnects are key here, also...But I use even better MIT interconnects with the phono stage, so that doesn't explain why the CD50 is so close behind...

I own a Theta Digital Miles and Magnepan 1.6qr's. The trade-off here is not is the image better and more coherrent with or without a preamp. You've found the same thing I have, It is Better! To me the question is, "Is it worth the gain in soundstage and detail, to loose the dynamics and warmth of the tubes in your preamp." I've always heard a distinctive loss in signal when I have to attenuate (sp?) the level out of the CD Player. It was the same for my older Dennon dc360, my marantz CE67SE. I like the CD player through a preamp at lower and moderate listening levels. When I choose to open up the system and let it run, I prefer straight through.

That's partially the Maggies, IMHO. They don't "come alive" at lower playback like an esl. Those have other problems, though. My CD50 has no trouble with dynamics at any volume (has beefy output devices). Using it balanced has increased the output by 6 dB, so that helps too. You could try balanced operation with the Miles, couldn't you?