Linn vs. Wadia

Having been in the audio biz for over twenty years and not owning either of these products I would make the following comments:1)Pioneer is a very large company and if the transport is only $200 it is because of their giant build quantities. If they were Linns size that same transport would probably cost $500-$750. 2) Pioneer and Teac probably spent as much if not much more on the R&D of their respective transports than Linn. 3)Wadia's experise has always been in the Digital to Analog domain which is where the majority of the audible difference in Digital comes from if you start with a reasonably high quality transport. All 3 of these companies have a reasonably good transport, irrespective of the cost price. 4) In the end its all about sound and I have heard great things about both Linn and Wadia. Finally, it seems to be pointless to talk about the sound quality and value of these two highly regared products and companies until you have put both units into your own system and listened!!

Hifinut604, It is always good to see someone critique a component they have never even heard! You really must be a nut(case). BTW I have to go now so I can bow down to my shiny machined aluminum box that happens to sound fantastic. Good luck...it seems like you will need it.

Without adoubt, Wadia is far better. I have a Wadia 850. Digital volume control is great. Bypassing the pre-amp gives you the best sound out there. Detail & rich.

I auditioned some Linn and Wadia players today. To be fair, the Linn Genki was average at best, but I was extremely impressed with the Ikemi. I personally feel that it bettered the 830 in most areas, including a more natural, relaxed presentation of the music. The Wadia was more lively and incisive, but it seemed to exaggerate certain frequencies, like the sound was fed through a graphic equalizer, although details seemed intact. I felt the Wadia 850 was noticably better than than the 830, but still fell a bit short of the Ikemi. Jla, I can critique the physical build quality of a component I have seen and what is listed in the spec sheets if I want. That might be the only thing OBJECTIVE that anyone can state, since sound quality is actually SUBJECTIVE, and there is no right or wrong. In keeping myself objective, I refrained from commenting on the sound until I have heard it. I understand that you are passionate and defensive about your substantial investment and I apologize to you and any Wadia lovers regarding some of the comments I made in my earlier post. If you think all happy with your investment, and the sound is good in your system, then more power to you all. I am sorry if I don't feel that way, but I believe I am entitled to my own opinion without having to be called a nutcase or requiring luck to find the player best for me, since my under 30 year old ears are just fine, thank you very much. Your blantantly personal attack has started to cross the line of being offensive, and I request that either this thread ends here, or we stop the flaming. One final point is that a direct comparison of the Wadia 850 with the Ikemi seems a bit unfair since it does cost $1500 (40%) more than the Linn Ikemi, so I think it SHOULD sound better, (which to me, it didn't) and a Wadia 860x at over $7000 should sound significantly better. I didn't bother auditioning this since player, like the Sondek CD12 would be out of my price range.

Hifinut604, Glad to see you were able to audition both players. Sorry if I came off overly defensive. I agree the personal attacks were out of line. BTW, I just turned 30 last week and have not lost my hearing yet either. Always good to see young people engaged in the hobby. Good Luck...