ADMIT YOUR DEADLY SINS. (PT1 of 7)

well can you answer in a pm? as someone sho makes cables, and ahs owned vishnus, i would be most interested in your appraisal. as i say i like what they have done to the sound of mys system very much but i haven't ever tried any others other than the freebies that came with my kit.

going on up the product range is a bad thing? i would have thought that was an endorsement of the product if as funds became available, people were suitably impressed to want to move up the range. i had supposed with a tag like wadia-meister, that you would have loved all things wadia!!

i actually tried it out against the cdx2 and the naim certainly was punchier, but i felt that the 301 had more detail and created more of a "being there" feeling.

i agree entirely about the display. it's useless. even up relatively close. at least you don't have to read the music off it. for a product that costs this much it is poor, but at least it is in no way representitive of the sound!

i actually haven't had the lid off to comment on the space inside. are there mods for the wadia that you would recommend? do they beat the diminshing returns issue?

i believe that to be true, i just haven't heard a vinyl setup...

 

Blake you have PM

 

Exactly my experience - the 301 blew away anything else I heard in the price range, particularly in that "being there" feeling. I couldn't live with that completely shitty display (and upside-down transport)....so had no option but to go to the 861 . Not tried it with any fancy power-cord though (beyond feeding it via the Trichord conditioner) - partly because I can't see any justification for the claims made characterising them.

PS: WM - a "power cord" is a piece of wire through which electric current flows; a "power chord" is a collection of notes more associated with popular music beat combos such as Saxon, Whitesnake, Nirvana - with whom I believe you have some familiarity. Damned illiterates!

 

Enter The Awkward Squad. I believe that to be totally false, and now having heard digital and vinyl side-by-side in Titian's magnificent seup, I can confirm that they are distinguishable only by people with (a) better perception that I, and/or (b) people who want to hear a difference, for whatever reason. And even vinyl man Titian admitted that he couldn't hear a lot of difference (he did hear a slight difference where I heard none).

 

In my experience vinyl sounds 'bigger' than CD. Titian's system is clearly of insufficient quality to show this up.

 

Never heard this difference, James (although I accept that you do). But if Titian's setup isn't of sufficient quality to show this up, boy, are you all in trouble!

However, I accept that it may all come down to me. Which means, of course, that vinyl can never be considered "better" than CD, because in the end it's a matter of personal preference and perception and a substantial chunk of folk will always think that vinyl is not superior to CD.

 

.

Graham,

I do set the standards which all other are Judged

 

Hi tones,

Probably comes down to set-up issues rather than the kit itself. The price tags certainly are well up to the mark!

 

Chaps

In my experience a good vinyl system is better than a good CD system.

However the Naim CDS3 has reversed that situation but it is very close to the point of almost non existence.

Regards

Mick

 

Re: Chaps

Mick,

I have to say, since your retirement old chap, your comedic talents, have improved some what, I mean that was almost amusing, keep up the good work sir

 

I'll let you explain that one to Titian, James! Anyway, the most important thing of all is, bloomin' good listening both, whether it be on Titian's or on my humbler LP12.

 

WM,

I must say that I am very surprised to read that you (of all people) are not too keen on the sound of the stock Wadia 861. So can you say what it is that you don't like about it? FWIW, I have heard the 861 several times now and taking it's current retail price into account, it's sound just doesn't add up to my ears. I have also heard a Great Northern modifed 861 in the U.S. and that, I must say, was very good indeed.

In fact, I thought it was just me but a colleague of mine working for our offices Stateside recently sent me an email to say that he had acquired a used 861 but he also was not bowled over with the sound. Therefore, it will be going to Great Northern Sounds for an 'extreme makeover' as he compared his stock 861 to a GNS modifed version (back to back) and the differences were night & day (his words, not mine).

A year and half ago I would have said, no way. Now, having heard a lot of excellent sounding and well set-up turntables, I would say that although there are some good CDPs out there, and the gap between the two has narrowed, the turntable still get's my vote for now. Obviously I haven't heard the very best CDPs (if such things exist) but from what I've heard so far, your statement rings true.




Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Lawrie,
I have owned a Statement Unit. so I understand those night and day differenices . far better for sure
Have you noticed Steve is selling Virtual Dynamics cables now as well as recommending Shunyata?
However I do things a little different, prespectives are from a different angle.
A 270/27ix combo just nicks it, but it's close, factor in the SE and its humm.................
Stock 861, just not enough, solidity, stage isn't particulary good (but thats a wadia trait), bass is ok, but is lacking for my tastes (SE transport mod helps big here), flow is nice, not enough Groove though. there are a few more , buts thats enough on its own for me I'm afraid.
Different tastes I'm afraid nothing more.
The Burmester 001 for example is stunning in middle, texture drive and dynamics, more than match for 861 everwhere, but more expensive, however I still didn't gel with, Hence the for sale notice in buy & sell.
As for Vinyl, well a decent set up is fab without question, funny thing is though I've only heard 2 of these I could say this about, and strange thing was, they were dearer than than the digital set ups I was comparing them against.
I feel your friend will enjoy the results of Mr Huntleys work, its worth the wait

 

Rewster

I am in Epsom Surrey if you wish to make a day trip to listen to both systems

cheers

Dave

 

wadia-meister is the mod you mentioned similar to the great northern sounds mod? do they do such a mod for the 301?

 

WM,

At last we agree on something, especially on the sonics of the stock 861. Your observations are spot on and believe me there are more people out there who feel the same way about the stock 861. Yes, Steve has been selling the Virtual Dynamics cables for a while now and I know he recommended them to my colleague who is also going for the Statement upgrade. The Virtual Dynamics are said to work very well with the Wadias. Anyway, I will get to hear it when I am over there next.

Again, I agree with your summation of the Burmester 001 player which I heard in Germany whilst on a visit there. It is a very fine player and one I would not mind having on my rack but at it's current price of approx GBP 9,000 it is just too rich for my veins. Right, now I'm just not keen on dumping too much cash into digital. Interestingly enough, the same player sells for around USD 14,000 in the U.S. – utter, utter madness if you ask me.

Blakeaudio – GNS also do Wadia 301 upgrades although I'm not sure if it's worth sending your player all that way just for an upgrade. It is perhaps better to buy one from there that has already being modified.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

i was actually wondering if there was something similar done over here?

i'm sick of paying huge amounts for shipping stuff around the world anyway!

would they have 230v units? i have to say i've never opened up the case to see the power supply, and so have no idea if it is easiily switchable or not???

 

Blake,

To convert a non 240V to UK spec, you need an input IEC/Shaffner unit, with the correct Circuit board adapter attatched to the rear of it £200 fitted from MDC

 

sounds like it's easier to just see if i can find a similar mod over here! maybe someone should look into licensing GNC's mods....

 

Well Blake,Give Audiocom a tinkle, I'm fairly sure he uses something awfully similar to their super clock & regs.
They did my Bro's 861 a couple of years back.