Wadia CD players direct to power amps opinions

I'm officially changing my vote. The Shunyatas I just bought make the MX-Rs sing in a way I didn't know was possible and as a result going direct is now clearly superior to having a preamp in the path. So I guess at the end of the day it depends on your components as to what will sound better, but imo direct is the way to go.

You can see the system I'm using below. I just tried this comparison again earlier this week to see if maybe I was giving direct an unfair shake (I had compared the two setups in Q1 of this year using different components with the same CDP and concluded that a preamp was optimal at that time).

The Wadia direct sounds more transparent than through a preamp but the presentation falls apart as a whole; at base, the components of the music are all there, but it sounds more like a cacophony of sounds rather than a coherent presentation (i.e., music). On the other hand, through a high quality preamp, the presentation just gels and the PRAT is there in spades. It's a clear victory for the preamp in my system, despite the initial seduction of the direct mode's transparency.

Who knows? If I could logically figure it out I wouldn't have waited so long to go direct. In my case, I have variable impedance interconnects and I originally preferred the preamp. The only thing I changed was the PCs to the amps so it seems to me to be something quite complex (the much maligned "synergy" perhaps?) and I can understand both sides of the argument given my experience.

Bombaywalla, thanks for the confirmation that I'm not losing my mind :) I continue to be amazed at how much better my system is going direct; the GNSC Statement Wadia 861se is just amazing; I can't even imagine what the 9 stack can do.

Spatine,

ime with the Meridian 808.2i I felt that its output stage is perfectly fine for running direct to an amp; I would assume that the 808 is very similar.

All,

I'm flip-flopping again, the Ayre KX-R has brought about an amazing change to my system for the better, so I'm back in the preamp camp and likely for some time. In any case, this just reinforces what I've said above; the components decide what is the better option. What I do know is that absent a very special preamp like the KX-R, I still feel that direct is the superior option.