Hi Jimmy,
I've owned quite a few Wadia players(23,850,860,861)and they're all fine machines. The 850 gives you the monocoque chassis of the 860 series and looks cool and it's built like a tank. When you move up to an 860 series player, there's quite a big difference, not only in circiutry, but maybe more importantly, there are two more substantial separate power supplies which allow it not only to sound more refined, but more solid sounding. The 860 can be further upgraded in the future to bring it up to the 861 level should you choose to do that later on. You should be able to buy a used 860 player for close to what you want to spend and end up with an excellent player and still have the flexibility to improve upon it if you feel the need. You might want to contact Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound(651-436-8912 or shuntley@greatnorthernsound.com); he has intimate knowledge of the Wadia players and he's a great guy too and will be happy to help guide you through your decision. Good luck...Skip
I've owned quite a few Wadia players(23,850,860,861)and they're all fine machines. The 850 gives you the monocoque chassis of the 860 series and looks cool and it's built like a tank. When you move up to an 860 series player, there's quite a big difference, not only in circiutry, but maybe more importantly, there are two more substantial separate power supplies which allow it not only to sound more refined, but more solid sounding. The 860 can be further upgraded in the future to bring it up to the 861 level should you choose to do that later on. You should be able to buy a used 860 player for close to what you want to spend and end up with an excellent player and still have the flexibility to improve upon it if you feel the need. You might want to contact Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound(651-436-8912 or shuntley@greatnorthernsound.com); he has intimate knowledge of the Wadia players and he's a great guy too and will be happy to help guide you through your decision. Good luck...Skip