Wadia with or without a preamp ?

I think the 850 I auditioned run directly was a bit strident in the mid treble run directly into the amp. Having said that - what AMAZING soundstaging and imaging, not to mention ease of presentation and glorious midrange. Right now, it's too much $$ to pick up both the wadia and a top of the line pre (and that's what it would really need to add more flesh to each note (right now the emphasis is on the leading edge of notes, hence the imperssion of harshness)) - or perhaps an upgrade others have referred to-except I am not willing to spend $5k on a player that then needed another $2k to upgrade.... Just my $0.02.

Does anyone know how to adjust the output switches on the Wadia 850?

Yes, write me an e-mail and I will send you the settings. Or you might go to www.wadia.com and contact them for the same question.
In my system the 850 feeds into REVELS LE-1 (crossover-sub amp) which feeds the McIntosh valve amp MC 2000. In comparison to the path via my AUDIO RESEARCH SP 14 this is a MUCH better solution. I really believe it depends on your system and even on your listening room wether you use a pre or not. Any pre does something anyway that's the simple key, I guess.
Cheers
Tilmann

OF course,WITHOUT !!!