what are the Best Direct to amps Digital Players ?

I like the Wadia 270/27ix and the DCS Elgar with the matching transport and upsampler. When I was looking to buy one of the above setups, I put them both in the same room and ended up liking the Wadia a little better.

I'm a big fan of Wadia products. I've been using them for years. To answer Audiolabryinth concern, this is the 2nd time Wadia went out of business. I know they still sell a few computer based, lower priced products, but they stoped making things. Wadia no longer makes any products in their own, US based factory. The products they now sell are all made for them overseas. To me, that's going out of business. Others may disagree.

I mentioned Wadia because even though their high end products are no longer made, I still feel that they are some of the best ever made. For something currently made and supported, you really can't go wrong with dcs. Even though I ultimately went with Wadia, I can understand why some like dcs better.

"07-02-13: Krell_man
Chris,

While I don't question what you said, I do have to wonder what's going on then.

The Italian company that bought them also owns Sonus Faber and Audio Research. Why would they buy Wadia and then shut it down? It seems like someone just flushing money down the toilet.

When I was at Wadia in Michigan before they moved to Minnesota, John told me that they got one of the primary designers back and were planning to delve much deeper into the DACs.

Chuck
Krell_man (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

07-03-13: Chris10an
Wadia was acquired because of the brand, and not because of the products they produced.
Chris10an (Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

Your guess is as good as mine, but there are quite a few reasons why another audio company would buy Wadia. Here's a few that I can think of.

1. To get the Wadia name.

2. To have access to the network of existing Wadia dealers.

3. To get the rights to Wadia designs. If you wanted to get into making digital sources, owing Wadia's designs would probably give you a head start.

4. Eliminate Wadia as a competitor in the marketplace.

5. Wadia may have a stock pile of valuable parts. High end Teac and Pioneer stable platter transports, Dac chips, etc.

6. Possibly rebuild the Wadia name and line of products with fresh resources.

7. Maybe there was no real reason other than Wadia was just too cheap to pass up. A gamble.

8. It could have been a mistake. Maybe Wadia 3 will be just as successful as Wadia 1 and 2.

9. To keep someone else from buying it.

10. I like nice, round numbers and didn't want to leave it a 9. If I can think if a number 10, I'll edit my post.

Audiolabyrinth,

I don't have enough confidence in Wadia for any type long term service. Who knows if they can even fix one of their higher end units right now if there was an issue. One of the original people from Wadia founded another company called Great Northern (I'm pretty sure of the name. If not that, then something close.), but I think they went out as well. They used to service Wadia.

Audiolabyrinth,

Aesthetix is a very good company. I completely forgot to mention the Romulus in my other posts. I haven't heard it myself, but I would recommend you consider it based on the build quality and sound quality of their other products. As Edorr says, they are very well known for making some truly excellent preamps. If I could choose someone to make a volume control for my CD player, it would be them. You shouldn't have too much difficulty finding a dealer. Its a fairly popular brand. I know you don't have anyone close, but there's a good chance you will find it at one of the dealers you plan on taking a trip to.

Audiolabyrinth,

Since you're not too familiar with Aesthetix, I went to their website and had a look at their dealer page to see if I can recommend one that I know. It turns out that they only have 17 dealers in the US. Of those 17, I've done business with Audio Connection in NJ, Audio Center in FL, Sound by Singer in NY and Apex Audio in CO. I also bought something from Analog Shop in NY over the phone but I haven't been to the store. Singer is just OK (actually, I'm not sure if they are still in business), but the other 3 are exceptional. This tells me that they are one of those manufacturers that are very picky about who they allow to become dealers. Even though you haven't heard of Aesthetix, its a very popular brand and if they wanted to double or triple their number of dealers, they could do so almost over night. That's no guarantee that you'll get good service, of course, but for me personally, I would expect the dealer to be better than average.

Where I'm going with all this, is that your closest Aesthetix dealer is Audio Alternative in Liburn GA. Mapquest shows it to be about a 6 hour drive from Mobile. If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to plan a trip to the store. Call first if you decide to go, but its almost certain that Aesthetix requires that they keep a Romulus on display since there are so few dealers.

Also, some of the other posters recommend going with a transport/dac combo. I know you don't want to go that route, but there is a pretty decent case to be made for doing so. All I'm suggesting is that if you have the opportunity to demo separates in your search, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do some listening. Maybe even bring a CD player you know well for comparison. If anything, it will be a good learning experience.

Audiolabyrinth,

I'm glad I was able to help out. From reading all your posts, I know how much it means to you. After all, what in life could possibly be more important than having a good sounding CD player? Maybe Tara cables and a working kidney. But that's as far as I'll go.

"08-18-13: Audiolabyrinth
I am currious is to why no one has mentioned a player, that of all things was dicussed on a amp thread!, The EAR acute 3 player, whats every ones impressions of this player for direct to amps, the reviews are thru the roof!, cheers."

I can give you 2 reasons. 1. I don't read audio reviews. 2. I forgot it has a volume control.

Now that you know about it, I say definitely listen to it. He's an excellent designer that's talented in many areas. If you end up liking it, I can recommend a dealer that will probably give you a very good deal on one. Also, you may want to check out the 25th anniversary SACD of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Its dual layer, so even if you don't have an SACD player, you can still listen to the CD layer. Tim P did the remaster on that one. It has a very unique sound and listening to it may give you some insight as to how he thinks as a designer.