With Wadia, pre-amp or no pre-amp

Jla, I've recently done extensive tests with my Wadia 301 against my buddy's Wadia 860-X. Also, we both previously owned 850's before buying our current Wadias.

My 301 took a very long time to break in. We did the first comparison test at about 40 hours on the 301, and it was disappointing. We did the second test at about 140 hours and it was a different story. We both felt the 301 is better than the Wadia 850 in general. I won't go into specifics, because we didn't have it available to A/B.

When we first compared the 301 to the 860-X, the 860-X had more weight and a more sophisticated sound (less digital sounding). But after the 301 was fully broken in, the two players were very close, and the slight glare I'd heard earlier in the 301 was gone. I still preferred the 860-X by the smallest margin, but my buddy thought they were really too close to say one was clearly better than the other, just slightly different. To be that close is quite an achievment for the new 301 at $3650, because the 860-X is no slouch even though it's now been superceded byt the 861. I believe the various new technologies on the 301 have substantially reduced the gap between the models, and eclipsed the performance of the older 850 in the process.

I should add that both players were evaluated using PS Audio Mini Lab Cables and a Power Wedge. They were running CD direct into a Cary V-12 amp, Soliloquy 6.3 speakers, AQ Anaconda interconnects and Stealth speaker cables (model unknown).

Thanks so much Wehamiltion for the great information on the 301!!!

I own the 860x for more than a year now, and have used it with and without pre-amp. My pre-amp was a BAT Vk-40, the BAT sounds Beautiful! but let me tell you when I tried my Wadia 860x Direct to my amps Oh man, incredible! Details,Details. I play lot of different flavor like smooth jazz, vocal jazz, Hip-Hop, Latin(jazz, salsa, merengue) oh yeah! you got to tried Paquito D' Rivera Tropicana Nights SACD format, Stunning!. I did match the output voltage of the Wadia 860x to match my amps and play at a reading of between 80-96. Sounds Amazing! My setup is:

Wadia 860x ( I want to do the Wadia Statement upgrade)
Krell KMA-100 mono block.
Icon Parsec 3-way speakers.
AudioQuest Anaconda 1.5m.
AudioQuest Dragon HL 1m two pairs.
3-Elco Power cables.

Peace!

I've got a Wadia 27 + Jadis JD2 drive (using Audioquest Pro2 optic fiber) Jadis JA30's + Kimber 1030 (interconnect) + (waiting for Jadis JPL to arrive in May) EAR 834L preamp (with Jadis valves) + Kimber Monocle XL (speakers' cable) + K'Horns.
I've actually tried connecting the W27 directly into the JA30's. It works but sound is more "together" with better imaging & slam with EAR preamp. I think the sound is more coherent and more "musical".
Added bonus: you can use more than one source (I've got a tuner) or you've got to have a Wadia 150 A/D converter (not available in 240 Volts).
So it seems that a good preamp would add/restore air and imaging to the sound and achieve a good synegy with drive and DAC. Now Jadis preamps have an impedance matching valve in their circuit.
Last week I went to somebody's place and listened to a huge system viz Genesis 1's driven by big Gryphon amps (150lbs each!). I was disappointed. Room? Amps? I heard the very same speakers with Wadia 9 + 7 + Jadis JPS2 preamp + Jadis JA200's a few years back: it was fantastic! Now the Gryphons were fed signal from a big Meridian combo: 800 drive + 861? with a "preamp card". Is that a real preamp à la Cello?
The thing is, every time I've listened to great systems it's always been with preamps in.
A (wise) piece of advice: stick to the same good high end dealer who will lend you equipment. That's what I've been doing for years and it works!

In my experience the only way a preamp is better, is if the component in question is not capable of driving the interconnect and amp. The Wadia gear is designed to be run direct. Remember folks, the *shortest* signal path is always the best. Keep those interconnects and speaker wire as short as possible..