Brandnew WADIA Decoding Computer

hmmmm....good question! i did notice that the physical appearance has changed. they will be showing it off @ CES/THE 2006 starting in just a few days. Bet that there'll be some press on it. Keep your eyes peeled.....

Wow. A 3-piece DAC. That's exactly what everyone needs. Forget the question of separates, the magic number is 4 with the transport.

I'm sure it sounds exactly like if someone told the smartest digital playback engineers to make something with absolutely no constraints, including cost or future marketability. I'm sure the price will be staggering. I'm not sure all it does just yet, but it is on their website including the instruction booklet. I also wonder how many they plan on selling.

Rob

They had a prototype at CES a few years ago, I guess this is the finished product.

Without any accounting for different rooms, speakers, electronics, etc., at the time I fould the sound produced by the Meitner system to be superior. They would have to be placed in the same system, of course, for a true test.

If the current Wadia system is better than the Meitner, then how is the new, and as-yet unheard Wadia worse than the Meitner? Did they take a step backwards after 10 years?

I believe that I qualified my statement by saying "Without any accounting for different rooms ... " Surely that states that I am only giving an opinion of complete systems, and an opinion that was shared by the majority of the people that I spoke with.

As for my own personal opinion? I've never heard the Meitner in a system that I'm familiar with, but I have A/B'ed the Wadia 861se against an ARC CD3 and, according to my ears, the ARC beat the Wadia in every way imaginable. As far as I'm concerned, Wadia is an effort of great design and poor engineering.