look @ this thread (might have discovered it yourself if you had searched the archives here) for a lot of info: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1236884931&read&keyw&zzwadia=170 |
06-24-09: JabJab, this question on how a Wadia i170 works is asked again & again. Altho' the link I sent you talks a lot about whether to mod or not to mod the i170 BUT if you read that thread you will get a lot of info about how the Wadia i170 works, what is good about it & what is not. There are excerpts from very experienced people like Steve Nugent & there is a whole tear-down report from Gordon Rankin who is considered a pioneer in the computer audio arena. You will also read which DACs others used to change/improve the sound. When people mod certain sections of a product that itself tells you that those sections are most likely compromising the sonics & this itself goes towards answering the question of how well a Wadia i170 works. So, altho' this might seem like a convoluted answer to a simple question of how well the Wadia i170 works, you will realize the question does not have a simple answer! Different people have different criteria based on which they select the Wadia i170 (or something else) so different pieces of info have more or less meaning to different people. I believe that if you read that thread you will be quite well educated on the Wadia i170 & your yourself will be able to the question posed in this thread. There is a wealth of important info on the Wadia i170 in that thread. I think that you saw the title which said "to mod or not to mod" & you just blew it off! Let the title not misguide you. |
..... with strong reclocking capacity ......Ach, the magic words (IMHO) pertaining to the Wadia i170!!! Jab, essential details as the one quoted above (& why they matter for the i170) were discussued in that thread whose link I provided. Don't assume I'm a fool for trying to misguide you! ;-) |
IMO if you use one with a DAC that reclocks the signal, it'll perform extreemly well.Jab, this seems to be the key for the i170 unit unfortunately. Perhaps a $400 unit could have done better by using a better receiver rather the one they actually used - quite likely. But as an outsider it's hard to know what the real costs to manuf are for the unit & what sort of royalties are going to Apple. As for the foolish mods available (and yes I did read the tweekers link, which was time lost)Jab, This link was provided to you so that you could read all that info & distill from it what the pros & cons of the i170 were, what the inner workings of the unit were & why unit sounded like it did. However, it seems that was a wasted effort because, you, like the other forum member, couldn't get past the thread heading. It looks like that info went above your head - because if you had actually assimilated it you would not have bought the i170 to use in your particular system. It was clear (to me atleast) that you would be met with mediocre results, which you were. And, when it's your incompetence you go & blame the product, suggest that the 2nd iteration will solve the issue, etc! Yes, the product is flawed (& that was described in that link in great details) & there is a way to use it (unless you are willing to live with the compromised sound & many area) such that you get better sonics. What's the point of posting on a forum when you cannot comprehend & assimilate the info that is being given to you?? You are wasting your time & the forum members'. |
may be the 170i just can't fit into my system. I did think about playing the reclock trick ($250-$1800)but i would rather keep my system simple as getting an audio grade power strip will be another grand and i don't think the 170i is worth that much trouble in my setup. I might be able to get a better CDP that fits my setup for that price (ipod: $150 refurb, 170i:$380, decent DAC: $1000, decent power strip: $800-$1000, reclocker: $1800, total= $4000+) with better resell value. Hei83, the way you have written about your i170 experience, it seems to me that you've tried very hard to sub-optimize the i170 in your system. It comes to me as no surprise that the i170 did not work in your system. I think that your setup was slighted/biased to make the i170 not work for you! And, your thinking re. keeping your system simple by buying another audio grade POWER STRIP is just simply ludicrous. What the hell will a audio grade power strip do (besides choking your system)??? If you lose the music signal in your front-end source, it's gone forever! No audio grade POWER STRIP will bring it back! Who said that a decent DAC needs to cost $1000? There are several non oversampling, great sounding DACs out there that are in the $500 or less category. Who also said that a reclocker should cost $1800? You should be able to find a Monarchy DIP 24/96 for ~$200. Or, better yet: some of the DACs have re-clockers built-in. Brianmgrarcom can suggest atleast one to you. You might not still like the i170 but atleast do your best (& not your present half-assed attempt) to make it work to its fullest potential in your system. |
My review doesn't sound like most of the 170i user's opinion but it is my opinion.Not a problem here, Hei83. Your opinion is your opinion & it is a valid opinion. I am not trying to change it! BTW, I do not own a Wadia i170 so it does not matter to me whether you like it or not.... Can a $200 dip and a $500 dac get the most out of it?so, what kind of mentality is this??? Do you think that the cost of an audio product is directly proportional to its performance??? Do you think that just because it's a $200 re-clocker & a $500 DAC that you'll get poor performance from it in your system??? Do you know this for a fact i.e. have you listened to such components in your system OR are you merely regurgitating what you have read on the various forums that inexpensive products yield poor performance??? What I was trying to point out was that you did not give the Wadia i170 a chance to perform in your system. Atleast give the component all that it needs to perform before you say that it does not work for you. That's all. |
