Wadia 861 Owners...

I'm running my Wadia861se GNSC into a Boulder 1012 pre-amp. I never seriously considered going direct to the amps for three reasons:
1. i wanted a greater range of volume setting than just affording by staying near the top of the Wadia digital attenuation
2. i required the ability to switch between a couple different source components
3. the Boulder is a fantastic pre-amp, and i believe that the buffering and drive capabilities of a good pre-amp should not be discarded off-hand (especially when mated to the same mfg's power amps).

just my opinion.

From a Purists standpoint you would think that running a Wadia straight into the amp/amps would benefit it's sonics by eliminating the pre-amp from the chain? In my trials I have done this, however when adding a revealing line-stage and adjusting the Wadia's internal dip voltage out switches to match the pre-amps input requirements it takes things to an entirely new level. If digital was my only source, maybe I would speak to Steve at GNSC to see if he could help? However once hearing the difference, I only have intentions of using the Wadia as a CDP with a pre-amp. Good Luck!

I'm a recent owner of a Wadia 861 myself & have played both with feeding the 861 directly to my solid-state Symphonic Line monos & feeding the 861 into my CAT pre. I lived w/ both setups for atleast 2-3 weeks before making a change & comparison. My conclusion is that I prefer the 861 thru my CAT pre any day, any time! For me the conclusion is pretty night & day. While the 861 direct has very good sound, the sound thru my tube pre is just in another world (for the better).
Like Audiobugged indicated, I had to set the internal DIP switches for the correct output voltage because both my monos & my pre have a lot of gain. There was no way that I leave the 861 output @ the max. & have any useful volume control range.
I also did not like the fact that the digital volume control in the 861 is a DSP volume control i.e. is lops off bits (LSBs albeit) each time the volume is reduced. They say that it has no effect on the sound but I'm a skeptic! To overcome this, I use a preamp wherein I can set the dig. vol. control to 100 (which multiplies the music signal by 1, i.e. has no effect) & then use the preamp vol cntrl to adjust the loudness level.
If you lose it @ the source, you are never going to get it back downstream!
Anyway, my personal opinion, FWIW.

Gents, thanks so much for the thoughtful input. Obviously, system synergy is the bottom line and the variety of responses underscore the need for me to do some serious personal auditioning (oh, damn). It's encouraging to see that the 861 is successfully employed in such diverse systems. I'm attracted to the simplicity of running direct but, ultimately, if the sound is improved by the presence of an excellent pre- then that's the way I'll go. Consensus, so far, suggests that I head into tube territory.

I purchased the 27i/270 to go direct into SS monoblocks and fell in love. Lately tried running through a tube preamp into SS monoblocks and even enjoy it more. Might be backwards using a high end digital extraction to be processed by tubes and amplified by SS but the sound gives the answer.