Wadia 861 as a DAC

I have fond memories of this Wadia!
You can stream music using the Wadia as your dac, however I would probably relegate it to transport duty and purchase a current spec external DAC. Reasonably priced (1-3k) DACs nowadays perform very well.

ca2284

Good to read that your experience with George Meyer AV is positive. Equally, good to learn that parts are available for these older (Wadia) players. 

Happy Listening!

I believe there were three Wadia 861 models released — basic (no inputs), regular and the SE.

Will look into current spec external DACs as recommended. Thoughts on the Lampizator? 

If your Wadia has a digital input, why would you not try it out before thinking about external dacs?  The Wadia was a great-sounding machine.  Yes, good-sounding dacs have come down in price, but they are not necessarily better than the big boys of 15 years ago.  Wadia, ARC, Naim, Metronome and others were producing fabulous digital back then.  

If you want to get a bit more recent DAC and like the Wadia gear keep an eye out for used Di 321 DAC. you can pick those up for ~$1K and they sound great. If you want DSD you have to jump up to the 322 and additional coin. or the Di 122 without the volume control implementation.

Thank you!

Appreciate the recommendation and will look into the Wadia DI series.

I am introducing Meridian Sooloos Control 15 into my system which includes LavardinT amp and B & W 802 Diamond speakers. I love the sound from the Wadia 861 currently in the system, but it does not have digital input facility.

mcdvoice