I just bought a 381i after auditioning it and a 581i for a few eeks each. These machines use conpletely different mechanisms and the better, more expensive one used in the new 381 certainly shows its pedigree. Although the 381 is Red Book CD only, it shows a clean pair of heals to the 581 on CD replay and is only ever so very slightly behind SACD replay on the 581. The 381's CD performance is nothing short of extraordinary, especially at the price! I traded a dCS Verdi LaScala and Elgar Plus for my 381 and I could not be happier. Believe it or not, my dCS kit (and I also auditioned dCS's 3 new pieces of digital kit - viz.: Scarlatti, Paganinni and Puccini) and not one of them even came close to the musicality of the 381. Sure, the dCS kit is technically very clever and 3-dimensional, and has superb clarity, but it just doesn't come close to the tonal excellence of the 381. The 381 sound is richer, fuller, has more micro and macro dynamics and, put simply, doesn't sound like any digital product I have EVER heard before. To put my views in to perspective, the rest of my kit is Spectral 30/150, Spectral/MIT Reference cabling and Verity Parsifal Encore speakers, if that helps. I hope you find what you are looking for in a digital fron-end and I sincerely urge not to make any decisions until you have auditioned a well run-in Wadia 381 for a few days - it is simply sublime.
