Wadia "alive and well"

I noticed in the October edition of Stereophile that Wadia products had been removed from their "Recommended Components" list due to "doubts over availability" and I commented on that here. Looked like they might have been in some difficulties....

However, in this month (December)'s Stereophile Wadia write:

Still....no smoke without fire eh

Michael.

 

I reckon they may well still be in trouble, judging by the amout of cut price 861's available from dealers on Audiogon.

 

Robbo is correct, they've been unloading 861's for a good while, have been quoted $4600 for a basic model.
So bargins are out there to had, even the illustrious Lawrie has made a tentitive enquire I believe
Mike could well be right no smoke without fire. unless you've left some thing on top on a dac 64 for while Wm

 

Chaps

Have you noticed that Wadia's make a much better noise than their owners.

Regards

Mick

 

I thought Tone had a half decent voice

but then ive not heard the orchestral Mick

 

More like the Worzels

All together now : 'I've got a brand new combine harvester'...etc

 

Well actually

I have just taken delivery of a wurzels LP.......golden delicious.

They are becoming very collectible.

Regards

Mick

 

Robbo, i have a bad Bristo/zumerzet accent (so im told), unless Mick has spent time south of Brizzle he is probably orchestral to my cider addled ears




Mick, the Wursels rox me box

 

I can talk, I was born in Swindon!

 

Ah WM,

You really are slipping dudester. I would have thought that an avid Wadia devotee like yourself would have been able to shave-off some more dollars from that USD 4600.00 price (or GBP 4,600 in your money). I've actually been quoted USD 4,015 (or GBP 4,015) for a brand new full spec Wadia 861 (in silver or in black) with all the digital inputs and USD 3400.00 (or GBP 3,400) for the 861 B (Basic model without the digital inputs) - all including delivery to my door and full Wadia warranty (for whatever that is worth). The Wadia 302 has been offered at around 50% of the U.K. price. So I'd like to suggest that you hit those phones again dudester and start some serious haggling because you have been overcharged.

I have listened to both the Wadia 302 and 861 (at home) going into Karan Acoustics, Graaf and Sugden (power) amplification and whilst the 302 was unimpressive, the 861 is a good player although at it's GBP 8,000 retail price, it is way overpriced for the sound you get. Also, I found it rolled-off at the top - just a bit. These players made me realise that my Copland CDA289 (acting as transport) & Doxa DAC combo are good (as a pair) especially when compared to the 302. Sometimes new is not always better and I would advise potential 302 buyers to give it a long hard listen before parting with their cash. Now, when I compared the 861 against my Michell Gyro SE and modified SME IV tonearm set-up, we (myself and four friends) preferred the Gyro SE/SME IV set-up. Phono stages were the Graham Slee ERA Gold Mk V, Graaf, and Tom Evans Microgroove. What surprised me especially as it retails (in the U.K.) for around the same price as the Wadia 302 is the new Krell SACD Standard player. All I can say is that potential Wadia 302 buyers should also audition the Krell Standard and treat the SACD as a bonus because the red-book section is very good. But then again, maybe I just have very simple tastes.

Other units that have visited Lawrie Mansions were the Chord DAC64 and the Trivista 21 DAC. Which one did I prefer - well, I thought that the Trivista 21 gave a good account of itself than the DAC64. The DAC64 I found sounded a bit strident in the highs (very unnatural compared to the Trivista 21 and my own set-up) and seemed to be trying too hard to get itself noticed (sorry, I don't have all the audiophile buzzwords). If I had to put the DAC64 in a system, that system would have to contain tubes such as in a Conrad Johnson set-up. The Trivista is a fine DAC for the money especially considering the DAC64's price. Now, which one am I going for? Well, none really, not at this time as fatherhood (first time round) is just around the corner and Mrs Lawrie has other priorities such as decorating a baby-room and also, I've just bought a new car with a Bose in-car set-up as the Linn ICE (as in the Aston Martin) wasn't available. Damn!!! I did say I wasn't an audiophile, didn't I! Considering that the digital game has not moved on much in the last 5 years or so (based on my listening tests), the current digital combo stays and I'll keep on buying LPs as the sound is so good. However, if I were to change my mind next year on the digital front, then the Krell (if they can iron out it's slightly noisy transport) would be asked for a second visit. With regards to the Wadia 861, well a few months ago I mentioned that Wadia (the company) had been under more times than a deep sea diver and several people took offence. So it's interesting to see that in the audio press, and on this board, these rumours are now being passed around without uproar from the Board of Governors here. Would I buy the 861 at such attractive prices - well I guess the answer lies with Wadia, the company as I am a cautious investor. That's all I can say on that one. Btw, where is Timpy these days as he was one of those that accused me of damaging Wadia's commercial interests when I made my last comment. You haven't got him twisting cables in a corner of the office have you? Poor boy!



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Lawrie, out of lurking I see, the £4600 is not quite right I haven't gone any further the $4600, which is £2660 BTW plus import an vat still only £3250, so thats not too bad
I'm sure I could dig a little deeper, but I have no need of an 861, far too presenational & lacking in drive for moi.
The 301 I agree far too soft and yuk the 302, I'll pass also.
So the dac 64 is hard and in yer face the lawrie? can't think why so you feel toobes would help eh?
So maybe I was right about the trivista then,
prehaps you should try the MSB plat then Lawrie.
Timpy's in the office alright, but he's busy (listening restricted just to the weekends now) he's coding something rather difficult for something we can't discuss, but he says hello.
Lawrie, perhaps everyone 'understands you now', anyway nice to see a post. Wm

 

Nice to see you around again Lawrie....DAC64 "strident in the highs" and "trying to get itself noticed" ? Tut-tut, must try harder

You'll be joining WM and timpy in building body armour to protect yourself from the DAC64s "nails"

One day I'd love to get to the bottom of the reason why some people think the DAC64 "hard" and others (like me) don't hear one iota of hardness in it at all. I'd almost go so far as to call it "smooth" in the highs

I have a sneaking suspicion that not all DAC64s are created equal

Michael.

 

Mike there are more than just the 3 of us mate, in fact I took my 9th order for one of those very suits this afternoon

 

Mike, I have to say, not a chance, even on a hifi system using Verity Tomino's, a £5K valve pre and a pass labs x250 (none of which famous for there Krell like abilities), it still had traces of uridium 232 leaving the tweeters :lol: :lol:

 

Hey WM

I thought I'd step out of self-imposed exile just to share my experiences. Anyway, I used the USD 1.00 = GBP 1.00 FX rate as it seems that U.K. dealers have their own FX Index when it comes to pricing U.S. hifi. I am certain that if you dug deeper, you could shave a few hundred dollars off the price you've been quoted. I was expecting to be hit in the face by the sound of the Wadia 861 given the hype but I wasn't. I used, an integrated and pre/power but also ran it direct into two different brands of power amps - both tube and solid state. However, it's body-work in terms of size and build quality, it is second-to-none. Mrs Lawrie could not believe it was a CD player as I just managed to squeeze it onto my rack. All the players I've mentioned were at home with me for a week or just over so I feel I got a good measure of their sounds and reflected that accurately in my post.

Right now, where Wadia is concerned it is a buyers market but those buyers must also be risk takers although that situation will soon be the same for another high-profile American brand if this brand does not get it's act together quickly. Anyway, I'm sure the audio press will pass on full details in a few months time. We would not want to damage the commercial interests of this brand now would we?

Michaelab - I'm not sure what version of the DAC64 you are using but I had the latest MkII version (well run-in) at home for 1 week and the sound was as I described it. The amplifiers used were a combination of tubes and smooth(ish) sounding solid-state so it got a fair hearing. However, I felt that it would have performed better with an even warmer sounding tube system than the Graaf tube amps and solid state amps that I had available hence my mention of Conrad Johnson which is warmer sounding than the Graaf. There, I think that the DAC64 would shine (for my tastes). The Karan Acoustics amplifiers (which I use in my own system) are very revealing (but musical) beasties and revealed very clearly the DAC64's weaknesses. However, the Graaf and Sugden amps also revealed some measure of those weaknesses. I suppose you need a revealing amp to bring out those qualities in the DAC64 and for my listening tastes, that was a no, no. In addition to my own speaker/sub set-up, a friend also brought round his Amphion Xenons (as he was out of the country for two weeks) and this trait in the DAC64 was also there. Digital cable used was by Siltech.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

I've heard a MkI and a MKII in my system and neither was remotely hard. Three friends here who've also heard it in a wide variety of systems all take the same view (as me).

As "hardness" is one of the less subjective hifi attributes I'm at a loss to explain why I some people hear hardness with the DAC64 and others don't

Michael.

 

Mike, maybe the mains power in Portugal is better than the UK, as they do respond well to treatment (even Dean uses some on his)
I we put a dac 64 in here, it's wow its a dac 64, but man you gotta leave the room if you use the volume knob, where as the P3/superdac/dac20/wadia 15/25/m/f3.24/msb plat you certainly dont, and all using the same cables and transport.
Lawrie, an 861 certainly wont smack you in the face for sure, but it does convey a musical flow and presence that very very can, again so many variables, with assocaited kit, or prehaps you just don't like, it's not for everyone, and the size contraints are a pain too.
Dad soon then ?, well good luck & best wishes to Mrs Lawrie. Wm

 

Musical presence and flow in the 861 agreed with 100% but the Gyro SE & modified SME IV combo had it beat in that dept with life-like details thrown-in for good measure - no joke. This made me realise that if I had to upgrade my digital front-end, then I should be looking elsewhere.

Thanks for the good wishes.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Hi,

Yes I do have Trichord isolation transformer but it wasn't bought with the Chord in mind. It was at a cheap price 2nd hand. I works on all the digital items I have had through my system & on other bits of kit as well. All bits of kit will gain from good mains.

It's interesting all this talk about the Chord dac. I'm with Michael on this one. If it "took my head off" I would have booted it to Barnsley by now. I have it about 20 months & it's a mk 1 version. I think it sounds good & I can listen to it for long periods.

In a way it doesn't surprise me that some people don't like it. Most bits of high (or highish ) end kit prevokes a big reaction. (e.g. Naim, Valves, M***, etc). This is something I have learned from all my years in hifi.

Use what you like & can afford.

My Dac has done the rounds over the last 20 months at various peoples homes & at bake offs. It has had alot of good responses. But some people would look else & some people wouldn't mind owning one.

Too be truthful, I have heard it sounding like Big Tone has said. This was at the Bake off at Julian's house early on this year. This was through some Neat speaker with metal dome tweeters. The sound did sound better through Julian's speakers & I think through Robbos's speakers. Also the sound stepped up a gear with the Finestra pre & bel Canto.

I have no problem with anyone who doesn't like the Chord Dac64. If you have used a piece of kit & didn't like it then that is fair enough. Hifi is to used & to be enjoyed. I'm enjoying using mine.

BTW I still prefer my turntable.


Good to hear from again Lawrie. Best wishes to you & Mrs Lawrie.

SCIDB

 

Ok, I'll be on level about this, If you are considering a dac 64 and you own metal tweeters FORGET it (unless your gunna smoother it with cadbury style valve amps) & yammamuria cables
I'll define the 'hard jibe' (bit unfair) a bit more, even with decent stuff it's still very 'forward, & Lawries word is Strident' is spot on, one of Timpys too, it has a relentless quality, that does grab you, but keeps hold of you, ( in the same way a mafia hit man is slapping you around the face before pulling the trigger) and just doesn't let enjoy it as much as it should, it's very good, but for me a long term propostion no, It's a sort of con artist gives you the bigger wow factor, but just doesn't the whole picture (for me), it has a great solidity and dynamic to it, just a bit ragged around the edges and missing that important ingedient, but thats my view, it's more than capable of making some good music without a doubt for sure, just not the way I like it. Wm