Wadia 861

[Duvet]

and this



and the techy bit














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Technical Specifications

Transport
TEAC CMK-3.2 Vibration-free Rigid
Disc-clamping System (VRDS) with Digital Servo

Power Supply:
Dual transformers in internal isolation chamber

Decoding Software:
DigiMaster 2.4 with Selectable Upsampling Algorithms
24 bit resolution

DAC Sample Rate
1.4112 MHz

Digital Volume Control Range:
50 dB in one-hundred ½ dB steps

Maximum Output Voltage:
Can be adjusted via internal switches from 0.3V to 4.25V
to match system sensitivity

Output Impedance:
Less than 15 ohms

Digital Inputs:
1 glass fiber optic (ST)
1 S/PDIF (BNC)
1 plastic fiber (Toslink)
1 AES/EBU (XLR)
All inputs accept any sample rate up to 96 kHz

Digital Outputs:
1 glass fiber optic (ST)
1 S/PDIF (BNC)
1 plastic fiber (Toslink)
1 AES/EBU (XLR)

Analog Outputs:
1 pr. balanced (XLR)
1 pr. unbalanced (RCA)

Power Consumption:
25 watts

Dimensions:




Inches:
7 ¼ h
17 w
16 ½ d

Centimeters:
18.4 h
43.2 w
42 d

Finish Options:
Black or Silver Anodized Aluminum

Weight:
48 lb.. (21.82 kg[/align]







[align=left]Most of this review was conducted with Wadia running direct in to the Advantage 250 mono's . Wiring loom was Krystal Mercury power chords and silver XLR'Sand speaker cable was Acoustic Zen Hologram MKII Birwire[/align]


[align=left]Listening Material[/align]


[align=left]Dire Straits : Love over Gold[/align]

[align=left]Engineers : Engineers[/align]

[align=left]Ed Harcourt : From Every Sphere [/align]

[align=left]Jeff Wayne : War of the Worlds[/align]

[align=left]Pink Floyd: DSOTM ,WYWH and Pulse
SRV : Texas Flood[/align]

[align=left]Antonio Forcione: Tears of Joy[/align]

This is a stock 861 that has been upgraded with an Audiocom clock. Well first impressions are its bloody heavy and commands some serious rack space. The only slightly resonant area of the case work is the top casing . Wrap a knuckle at your own risk anywhere else as it hurts;). Ok now for the scary bit. Yes i know there are many that think burn in or warming up is a load of cods wallop but my last two purchases in kit have both had to go through the warm up process when they've been out of action for a while. The Wadia is the most worrying piece of kit i've owned and as said before it really is a truly messed your pants moment when you first fire it up and play. Lifeless thin, recessed oh yeah and did i mention shite. Some more elders of the hobby though were luckily on hand to pas the Kleenex and lend me a new pair of trousers. The cd player was then left on repeat for a week and no more listening was done. The first in the tray was my old reviewing favourite Love over Gold. This was the first cd i played on day one and it sounded ordinary. I week later and what a transformation. The thing this cd player excels at IMHO is extracting every bit of information there is is on the disc but not in some mad dissected way which means it becomes distracting. It becomes totally musical and involving . Alas the only comparisons i can make is against my trusty old Marantz 63 KI and there were some real in your eye differences( and so there should be) . The Marantz pushes the vocals further forward in the mix than they need to be whereas the Wadia brings the vocal a bit further back into the mix on Telegraph Road. The upshot is you get to hear more of whats going on in the track but Knopflers still there centre stage plucking away furiously. The other astounding thing is the reproduction of drums. The drum rolls seem to start not just outside the speakers but rolled from one boundary wall to another. It really is breathtaking. Its so unforced in presentation that you may think it lacks spark but thats one of its strengths. If it ain't there it ain't there period.

Right on the subject of sound stage which many of you know i love it does this in spades. Not just in width but in height also. What this machine does is have you reaching for cd's that you gave up on a long time ago and staying uplate into the night. DSOTM is simply superb on this cd player. The sax solo's on the Marantz have a tendency to become a bit raspy and shrill. There is a definite reediness that can be heard with the Wadiaand it becomes more lifelike because of it. Remember this is only after 1 week. Yesterday it had ben up and running for two weeks and the sound has improved again. Closely miked stuff is a revelation and acoustic guitar playing is so lifelike in sound and sound effects you could swear you'd know what guitar pick Antonio was using. Downside are if its recorded badly its recorded badly and the Wadia doesn't wash over this. Its still makes it playable but you get the gist of what i'm saying. On Love over Gold there is not a inky black noise floor. You know it was recorded on analogue tapes and its the same for some of the earlier Stones cd's. It doesn't detract from the performance it rather endorses and rubber stamps it. The last cd in tray for reviewing purposes was SRV Texas Flood. James you'll probably know why i 've used this cd and its gets pretty close to what we heard at Heathrow.

If you have the cash this should be on your short list as should many others in this price category . The plus points are of course upgradability which means the casework stays the same but not necessarily the gubbins inside. Just don't listen to it for the first week at least:dude:














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[ClassikFan]

Hi Duvet

What does WYWH sound like on the wadia? I have a copy I bought in about 1990 and when I play it on the Classik it sounds very average, to the point that I hardly play this album that I like so much when I play it in the car. I was hoping that a 30th Anniversary vinyl edition might hit the shops.

[Duvet]

Problem is i'm a cd spinner and never the old black magic so it would be pretty hard to compare formats. WYWH sounds very good to my ears on the Wadia. Gottta to say when something has been reissuesd and remastered i never really noticed a great difference. That includes quite a few Dire Straits re-masters i bought

[bommer]

bet californication still sounds shit though

[Duvet]

I haven't played that one yet Bommer. I bet it does though

[Picard]

great review, duvet. looking forward to week 2, 3 and 4.

Good review mate, glad it's doing it for ya, now just think about what newer speakers could do

[Duvet]

Oh i forgot to mention The Wadia remote despite being a reassuringly heavy as a house brick in build quality is absolutely pants in operation. Anything less than straight on will not do. Its about as responsive as a eunuch in a whore house

[Mr Coherent]

They are pretty naff at that and the most frustrating thing is, although they have a max window of 15 degrees If you running a couple of them in, they both seem to operate at the same time LOL so 3 sets of cd draws open , the wee small Irish folk at work I feel

[hifiwigwam]

Californication sounds great on my machine BTW.

[Duvet]

How does Tin Pan Alley sound . That deck we heard that day still unerves me now as does the Weggs

[bommer]

hifiwigwam wrote:

Californication sounds great on my machine BTW.

you bloody liar james,

that cd would still sound terrible on a system costing £50k

and with franks cables thrown into the equation

[Duvet]

bommer wrote:

hifiwigwam wrote:

Californication sounds great on my machine BTW.

you bloody liar james,

that cd would still sound terrible on a system costing £50k

and with franks cables thrown into the equation

Bommer me old china you are 100% correct have given it a run through tonight and if the Wadia had a spit itout function i'm sure it would have been activated. I'm sure they must have all been still on the gear when mixing that album or they've all got impaired hearing. One of the biggest recording do do's of modern time

[chezi61]

If you really want to hear a bad recording try The Go Team , dunno the name of the album but it's awful , would make your ears bleed , all treble and no bass.:shocked:

The producer and all concerned with the recording of this album should have a short lived future in the music industry.

chezi.

it's called Thunder, Lightning, strike Chezi, and yes it's truly dreafull, no matter what it's played on

[Testure]

Nice review again Duvet. Go on be honest you sabotaged the 301 so the misses wouldn't complain as much aboutthe 861 (your real goal).

Don't worry secret safe with me

Testure

[Duvet]

The 301 is up for grabs again at Moorgate Acoustics at £1850. I love to fire off a field report but as you know Testy it failed to work in my presence.;). Its been away to MDC for a service so it will bloody well work for someone this time. Can't say i'm too upset with the outcome

[Cloth-Ears]

You got a Wadia 861 ?

That's rubbish that.

[Duvet]

Whats up Cloth Ears. Not rubbed yourself up against Emily lately :sw:

[Cloth-Ears]

LOL no !Well, obviously no Wadia is rubbish. I was just having a laugh.

As for your suggestion: Watch it, watch it ! I think not ! Well maybe nowadays, but I haven't seen her.