Which Wadia?

As a long time owner of an 860, I can highly recommend this piece. Very nice specs, and it is upgradeable to 860x, or 861 specs to 24/96 capabilities. It has digital volume conrtrol, so you can run it directly into an amp if you don't want to use a preamp. It has both rca and balanced outputs. I use it through a Mark Levinson 380 preamp, because I have other components, turntable, tuner, etc. and I don't really notice any degradation at all. Check out the Wadia website for more info. The Wadia company has turned itself around, so I don't think you will have to worry about service in the future.
Good luck in finding one that has not been snatched up. If you can find one, "Grab It."

I agree with the above post, Wadia 860 is the way to go.

Upgradeable to the 861, it is an amazing piece of machinery and delivers incredible sound. Just make sure the rest of your system can keep up.

Also Wadia is undervalued at the moment because of the unfounded "uncertainty" surrounding the company, so id buy one now before the prices go up again.

A few months ago I decided to buy a new Wadia 861 and patiently waited. Despite what I was told by the sales rep of Wadia about its availability, it never appeared in my local dealer. I was quite annoyed by their slow response to my emails as well. What happens after I spend $8000 and need to ask them some service questions ? Before I part with my hard-earned money I would seriously consider the before and after sales services of any manufacturer. I am happy with both Krell and Levinson, but not Wadia. Furthermore, in today's format war buying a redbook only player may not be a wise investment. If you want to buy a Wadia, have a second thought....

How about the 850?

I understand that the 860 got a bigger power supply, in/output cards and a different transport mechanism. I don't really need the in/output cards and a used 850 is more than $1,000 cheaper than the 860. Is the 850 worth considering?

Vtin,

The 860 has two transformers and a better transport than the 850. The I/O cards are optional on the 850. The input card is about $1K and output card is $500. I recently boungt an 850 for $2100 and I am pretty happy with it. I will modify the power supply and do a few other things to it. Steve Huntley, who was involved in the design of Wadia players is a guest at AVS forum at AVSforum.com in the special guest section. He can probably answer all your questions concerning Wadia players.