Wadia? Should You Go Direct In Or Preout

if *any* digital source sounds better run directly into your amp, than thru your preamp, then you need a better preamp! if yer planning on spending money to updgrade your cd player, put it towards a better preamp - your system will sound better w/an improved preamp & your existing cd system, than the other way around. one person's opinion... doug

I have a Wadia 27 and I have it connected thru a CJ Premier 14 preamp. When I first removed the preamp, I was pleased with the better transient and dynamic response, but over time I missed the rich harmonics of the CJ Premier 14 preamp. With the CJ Premier 14 in the loop, I am a happy camper. BTW, without the CJ in the loop, I could not listen to the direct setup for long without experiencing fatigue.

sunny, this is *exactly* the experience my brother-in-law had w/a resolution audio cd55, only his preamp isn't even as upscale as the cj-14: an alchemist kraken (tho it's still nice, it's about 1/4 the price). he also found differences between this much-admired unit & his alchemist cd player (at ~half the price) were minimal, when run thru his alchemist pre. so, as i said previously, it's my opinion that yule get more sound/dollar by spending it on an excellent preamp. doug

First off, the 2 volt setting is with the #2 switches in the off or flipped (from factory setting) position. I found I had to do this with my Classe PREAMP in order to match the voltage and use volume levels above 12, which is low, and as it states in the Wadia manual, this could cause distortion at any listenig level. When I lowered the voltage, the sound was noticably much better and cleaner, and volume was now in the 20s, with a max of 60. I have an 830, and was driving it direct. It was harsh, aggresive and lacked air. I found a good preamp such as the Classe CP50 was much better. I think it is important to check the voltage with and without a preamp. I was told this by Robert at Classe Audio, and when I checked the manual, there it was. I believe the factory setting is 4.5 volts.

I want to add that Wadias method of setting voltage is that the correct voltage when going direct, is that seven LEDs should be lit when you are listening at normal levels. There are stetting for each voltage.