Depends a lot on the CDP. I found out the hard way (room full of fanatic DIYers) that my own pride-and-joy CDP, a Raysonic CD 128, sounds totally underwhelming through a passive. Sounds terrific in my system, coupled to an Aesthetix Calypso linestage , and I figured it would sound that way everywhere. "Twas not to be. Dave
Why do preamps improve sound of CDP?
I have tried listening to my CDP through my preamp and bypassing my preamp going from CDP directly to headphone amp. If I go through the tape out of my preamp the sound is even nicer than direct from CDP to headphone amp. Why is this?