CAT JL-3 Sig Mk2s direct from Wadia 781i?

You will need a preamp. I tried the Wadia's volume control a few times with the 581ise and it does benefit from a good preamp.

I think it's important to clarify the reason that Wadia allows for higher output level settings than the CD standard. They want their DAC's and CD players to be able to feed a very wide variety of amplifiers on the market directly. While it's true that MOST amplifiers require less than 1 volt to reach rated output, it's certainly not the case that all amplifiers are that way. We've run across amplifiers that require almost 3 volts input level to reach their rated output. So I can say that we have dozens of clients who use the full 4.5 volt setting on their Wadia players. The nice thing about the Wadia volume control design though is that you can set that maximum level to suit your particular systems efficiency. There are many people that would be forced to use a pre-amp if the Wadia players had just one or two volts output.

We feel you can get very musical results going direct...no doubt a really good pre-amp can be beneficial in some systems. There are trade-offs in my opinion and each person must weigh their own sonic priorities...and of course budget.

Gnsc, 4.5V is the absolute **maximum** that a DAC should produce for 0VU on the CD. We've seen players that make as much as 15 Volts; even 7 Volts is -no other way to put it- retarded.

Amps that need over 3 volts are unusual to say the least, consequently going over 3 volts means that there will be significant reduction in resolution if the internal digital volume control is used. If you are running direct, there is simply no need to be able to do anything more than barely clip the amp at full volume- if maximum resolution is your goal (which I hope is the case with any serious digital system) then this should be regarded as a cast-in-concrete rule.

If this rule is not followed, then it will be easy to get better performance by using a good quality preamp as others have observed, because the volume control in *almost* any preamp made is better than *any* digital volume control made.

For a digital manufacturer to put the time and development into a high quality control just to get it shot down by this rather simple issue makes absolutely no sense to me, but things play out this way more often than not!

Mtdking,

What were the benefits of using a preamp?

Other responders:

On my checklist would be: VAC renaissance MkIII, ARC's new Ref5, or the VTL 6.5 or Nagra PL-L. All would be circa 10k new. The Ref5 should be an improved Ref3 I gather.

Based on the system above, what do you think would be the best all-rounder? Auditions are not available to me...

Thanks again!

As a CAT JL-3 owner and an APL Denon player with built-in volume control, I much preferred using an Aesthetix Callisto Signature line stage in the chain. With the Callisto, there was significantly more body and texture to the instruments that show this well: piano, sax and vocals. But there was a reduction in clarity and detail on the top. As Gnsc points out, is it indeed about sonic priorities.

I have since moved onto the Aria WV preamp which has nearly the same midrange magic of the Callisto but a far greater wealth of clarity and resolution comes through now. I will have to repeat the test with the CDP into the amps vs. the Aria in the chain.

Daisiu, getting people to come to a consensus on which preamp you should choose is a losing battle. The CAT amps excel in dynamic contrasts, getting the leading edge of the notes with great clarity, and an incredible degree of resolution. With some very special small signal tubes, I have taken the 3D capabilities of the CAT amps far beyond what existed with the stock tubes. But these amps are tonally neutral so if you want a little more added midrange body or bloom, you will likely need to get this from your choice of preamp ... if this is indeed what you want to gain with a preamp in the chain. The CAT preamps and 6H30-based ARC Ref line stages are not likely to benefit you in this regard but they could bring on greater dynamic contrasts. The only way to know is to try them out.