Have to throw in my 2c. Having owned several Wadias and an Audio Aero, they are all excellent players. Do not get hung up on the digital attenuation of the Wadia system, it is not an issue in the real world if you adjust the player's max output level to correspond to your typical listening volume (not a difficult thing to do, but requires removing the top cover). Also, do not get hung up on the build issues of the AA, granted it's not in Wadia's league but it's certainly good enough. Like Tireguy said, afaik the chip problems were on the very first units and anything from the MkI 24/192 onward should be fine. As far as preamps go, IMO they are only needed if the output stage in the cdp is not up to snuff, and both Wadia and AA have very good output stages. After having seen a lot of these threads, the people who prefer a preamp over direct are almost always using a tube preamp (I can't think of a single instance otherwise), which tells me that they prefer the added colorations (warmth, ambience, etc.). It all depends on what you like. If your tastes lean this way, use an AA direct, you will not be disappointed.