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Re Wadia - FWIW I ran a 302 CDP direct and thru a pre-amp (using an integrated which allows the separation of the amp/pre-amp sections and electronic switching). I was able to do A/B comparisons. The main difference I detected was tonal which was slightly warmer in the lower mid's when using the pre-amp and more preferable to my ear. Another benefit for me is the ability to change the tone by changing tubes in the pre-amp. I'm not a straight wire with gain type of guy. :-)

Bruce (Bifwynne), thank you most kindly.

Acidfolk, as others have indicated you've certainly acquired some really nice equipment. And Daedalus speakers would certainly do well with the Einstein Light in the Dark. In fact, A'gon member Jazdoc, who is a very knowledgeable and experienced audiophile, uses that exact combination. You may want to take a look at his system description page.

As you've found though, there is a cost issue. I believe that the Ulysses model, which I and Jazdoc have, would currently cost around double your budget if purchased new. And as you appear to have found, the smaller Athena model would still be a couple of thousand or so over budget if purchased new.

A used pair of Athenas or the discontinued DA-RMa model would comfortably fit your budget, as would a used pair of some of the earlier versions of the Ulysses, which were quite good although lacking the "all poly" crossover that was introduced in 2010. And a more recent used pair of Ulysses would probably just exceed your budget slightly.

However, while used Daedalus speakers appear for sale here on occasion, those occasions are fairly rare. Chances are you would have to wait at least several months, or perhaps a year, before a suitable pair appears.

All of the Daedalus models have similar sonics, the main differences between the Athena and DA-RMa models and the larger Ulysses being a bit more deep bass extension in the Ulysses, and slightly greater efficiency. And as you may have seen, certain other models are designed to have wider dispersion characteristics, for situations where off-axis listening is a particular concern.

The comments some of the others have made about adding a preamp are in general good advice, IMO. However in this particular case, given that what you have is a very expensive CDP which apparently includes a robustly designed output stage providing a very low 15 ohm output impedance, with the output voltage range being widely adjustable, and given that you would presumably be using its balanced outputs, I suspect that the cost that a preamp would represent would be more productively applied toward the speaker purchase.

Hope that helps. Let me know if I can answer any more questions about the Daedalus models.

Regards,
-- Al

The amp is due to arrive today, I will post the specs,
TO get some further ideas, I did reread the Wadia manual and they state quite emphatically that preamps don't go with the wadia.
I have looked into the Daedulus , and may go with it, it is a tough decision as my budget would get blown, since the Argo looks the nicest for my purposes. Plus having to wait for three months is terrifying!
I only have a bookshelf infinity to use in the meantime, I m curious as to how it is going to sound when I plug it into the einstein

Having owned Wadias I know what they say about preamps. Their digital volume control was one of their selling features. This does not prevent many Wadia owners from using a preamp however.