wadia 301 owners?

I just "upgraded" from a Wadia 301 to an Audio Aero Cap Mk II. The Cap suits me and my tube system better, but lacks the Wadia's incredibly fast, taut bass and sparkling resolution. That said, for my tastes on my system I prefer the Cap. It comes much closer to analogue than the Wadia, and that's what I was looking for.

markone@pcconnect.co.nz wrote:
> I've tried it direct with my SA102 power amp, but
> performance dropped. The sound became thin and somewhat
> bright. The SA102 doesn't like direct feeds! Again,
> probably much depends on your partnering gear and
> cables.

That must be a system matching problem then. My Wadia 861 has no problems driving a Plinius SA100/3 using balanced silver interconnects made by a local company. I have a high-quality preamp, but after switching back and forth a couple of months, it has been sitting idle for weeks now.

The only amp I have first-hand (first-ear? :-) experience with not being driven well by the Wadia was a Crown PA amp with a relatively low input impedance.

I have had a 301 for about a year. It is a vibrant yet smooth sounding player. Very, very detailed, great staging, and pace. It is truly high resolution. I used to have a Meridian 508.20 and the 301 is a definite cut above it in my system. The 508.20 is a little richer and laid back, but the 301 presents timbres more realistically, and it is always involving to listen to. Music just sounds more real. I also heard the 302 in a system simliar to my own and it sounded quite similar. The transport of the 302 seems more flimsy than the stable platter of the 301 but the new display is easier to read. But sonically they are too close to call.

You should know that the 301 is being replaced by the 302. See other threads on this site

Not sure what your partnering gear is, but I'm using Plinius amps and it performs very well: very detail, but cultured, great bass resolution, big 3D, imagery was very good. I've tried it direct with my SA102 power amp, but performance dropped. The sound became thin and somewhat bright. The SA102 doesn't like direct feeds! Again, probably much depends on your partnering gear and cables. I use Audioquest Diamond and Sterling. With my system the Wadia sounded more open, etc, when I used balanced interconnects. Cheers, Mark