Wadia 302 Direct to amp or via pre-amp

If you use a preamp, you can use the volume control on the preamp, so therefore it's best to get the Wadia volume control "out of the way" (meaning set to 99 or 100). If you do that and the system volume (out of the speakers) is too loud when your preamp volume control is set to 12 o'clock, then you have to reduce the Wadia's output a little bit using the internal adjustment dip switches -- instructions are available from Wadia as an email attachment if you're in a hurry ;--)

ON THE OTHER HAND if you are going directly into an amp, you need to achieve an average listening level at a Wadia setting of 67 (approximately) so that you have a little bit of up and down volume range. Again, if 67 is too loud (or soft) then you need to adjust the internal switches so that 67 provides a "normal" volume.
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Newbee -- (first, just a note: "out of the way" and "wide open" are the same thing ;--)

In reading many threads on this subject, the general concensus (not 100% mind you) has been that "through a preamp sounds better" and also, another concensus is that CDPs and DACs sound best when using their balanced outputs (if provided) into balanced inputs (whether on an amp or on a preamp.)

I do use the balanced ouputs on my Wadia 27 DAC, but into balanced inputs on my Levinson 26s preamp. I've never even bothered to try the direct-2-amp hookup because as you said, I too have other sources to consider. And since I've not heard the direct hookup, I don't have to deal with the anxiety of wondering if my preamp hookup sounds best ;--)

I've never had to adjust the internal Wadia dip switches, because at "wide open" (Wadia level 100 on the display,) and with my preamp volume at (the optimum) 12 or 1 o'clock, my CDs sound a little too loud, and so do my LPs and tuner. So all sources are in the same volume range. My preamp doesn't have remote volume control, but at least I can use the mute/volume on the Wadia when necessary.

Wadia would like us to feed all our analog sources into their A/D encoder, then feed that into the DAC or CDP and then directly into the amp. But why the hell would one want to digitize all one's expensive analog sources! -- plus you'd lose several (convenient to use) preamp functions like mono/stereo, tape loop/record out, phase invert, etc.

So for my purposes anyway, I don't see ever eliminating the preamp. If you have a CD-only system, it might make sense. But if I were going to do that, I wouldn't use a CD player. I'd buy a transport and run a long AT&T glass optical cable to the DAC and amp between the speakers affording the absolute shortest ICs and speaker cables ;--)
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