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Pre-amp or cd direct to XA30.5 ?

I'm new to this, and this is my first forum.. so here goes. I have an old set of Tannoy D700's and have purchased a Pass Labs XA30.5 amp. I'm questioning
if I must adhere to traditional pre-amp (probably X2.5 or X1 2nd hand), or can I go direct from cd player with say digital inputs and volume control (say modwright oppo 105) or wadia? Any thoughts.. My reason for against pre amp is simply don't need that many inputs. Ideas pls.. and tks for any advise ..
fsyme
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
Fsyme
I would set it .5v first and if you can get loud enough volume, then your your fine. I'm sure you will as that's around 2/3rds of the XA-30.5's full output.
If not then go to 1.1v

Cheers George
fsyme OP
45 posts
 
Tks all...
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"02-21-14: Fsyme
I did some reading online and looks like my XA30.5 has max voltage at 0.77V. Wadia can set to 0.5V or 1.1V. To achieve max performance, better setting the wadia to .5v for 100% vs 1.1v"

There's more to it than that. Bit loss is only one of several factors to consider. For example, I have a pair of Wilson speakers I sometimes use. They're very efficient. If the gain on the Wadia is set too high, I get a hiss. Its a very common problem with efficient speakers. Other factors that will determine your overall gain settings are how loud you like to listen and how big your room is. You just have to experiment and find the best setting that works for you. Its also very easy. It shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to find out where you need to be.
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,483 posts
 
If you can match the source to amp properly that has a good volume control, mated to a tube/solid state Hybred or just a tube player to a good solid state amp,, I can tell you that my findings is the source direct to amp is the best I have heard, mated with some very good cables, It's a done deal.
fsyme OP
45 posts
 
Ive around $2k right now.. and saving. Any advise on a good preamp other than pass X2.5 or X1.. (if i can find)?
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