mike, i have a cal alpha and delta - when i ren it thru and audio research sp-10 into a sonic's frontier amp the synergy is excellent, i.e. the pre-amp and amp soften the high end of the cal alpha. i love the sound for casually listening, especially jazz. i also have a bat vkd5 which i run thru an ear pre and a mesa baron amp and this combination is exceptionally detailed and musical. the bat sounds crappy on the sp10/sf and the cal sounds too bright and high fi'ish on the ear/baron. is the bat that much better - it sure is - is it worth it (used) it sure is, but its still all about synergy and it makes buying without listening a sort of crap shoot. you can do it, but you really need help from reviewers,and users, who's bias is known to you, and can help you with the synergy issue. good luck.
How good is my source?
I have a CAL CL 20 dvd player, since upgrading from my early 90's I've used the Sony 7700, Cal CL 10 and a CAL Alpha w/ a Kinergetics transport, I prefer the CL 20 over my previous sources but I am curious how much better units such as the Wadia 830, the Meridian 508.24 and the Electrocompaniet player are. I've checked some reviews but they haven't been much help. the Wadia review I read said it was on whole other level from players like the CAL but the review I read on the CAL said the differences between it and the Dcs combo where "almost superfical", I find both these comments hard to believe