Wadia 170i after Audiocom upgrade - you've gotta here this!

[worrasf]

Just got my Wadia 170i back from Mark Bartlett at Audiocom (http://www.audiocom-uk.com/) after a comprehensive refurb comprising:

Super-regulator for 3.3V supply
Super-regulator for 5.0V supply
Bybee slipstream for DC supply
Bybee Slipstream for power ground
WBT NextGen RCA for digital out
Superclock 4 ultra-low jitter clock
S/PDIF 8804 reclocking board
Panasonic Polymer capacitors
Stillpoints ERS cloth


and a Teddy Pardoe PSU.

How does it sound? Stunning :stalks: - truly stunning :stalks::stalks:

I was always impressed with the standard Wadia - an iPod has no business sounding so good but after the upgrades to the innards and PSU it has taken it to a totally new level.

My usual CD spinner (Cyrus CD XT se) is currently at Cyrus having a new transport fitted (I hope) so initial comparison was with my Quad 67 (not stellar but not a budget player either) but it is totally outclassed by the Wadia. Although I can't do a direct A/B demo with the Cyrus from memory the Wadia is even better! It certainly gives away nothing in terms of musicality and detail but I think has better "poise" and "finesse" - a bit less glassy and grainy - a bit more emotion to female vocals - more "vinyl" and less "CD". It sounds lovely :)

Now let's put this into context - this is an iPod v a Cyrus CD XT se/PSxR That's £1500 + £350 - so an iPod is as good as or better than a £2K CD player. OK - not just an iPod - Mark's fully modded Wadia will set you back about £1K and about £280 for the Teddy PSU but it's still cheaper - and you dont have the worry of expensive mechanical failures (my CD XT se was 10 months old when it started skipping tracks)

IMHO the fully modded Wadia turns your standard iPod into a truly high-end digital music streamer. I will never buy a CD again :)

Thanks Mark for a superb service.

Steve

[John]

Should get better with time, years back Mark did a great job modding my Nu-vista CD player. It took awhile for it to sound at it best, I could only describe the burn in process as slow and painful

[The Vinyl Adventure]

So do you store music on the iPod or stream music to it then?

[worrasf]

Store it on the iPod - maybe "music streamer" was a misnomer but semantics aside it is a stunning piece of kit.
Steve

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I was just wondering because of the iPod touch/iPhones streaming cababilities ... I tried with one of those onkyo jobs ... I wasn't so pleased with the streaming so was wondering if you had found a way to make it sound good ...
The app is called plug player if your interested
And of course there is the radio stations you can pick up over the Internet ... It's quite impressive what such a small thing can do!

So what format do you store the music in ... And what do you use for playback?
I have, not so long ago, got my iPhone to play flac, and even without a headphone amp the sound quality was improved from the acc files I had before ...

Is there no limitations on the quality when it's using a iPod as a transport ... And are there possible advantages? ... I'm just interested at the mo, but I have to find a new source for the loft in a few months... And going for a less expensive equiv of what you have appeals

[Audiocom AV]

Hi Stephen

Good news.

I had your modified Wadia 170 running for approx. 15 hours on the wall-wart power supply to test it and it was already sounding very good.

The upgraded 170 dock will take between 200-300 hours to fully burn-in, during which time the sound may vary but gradually improve further until burn-in is complete. Burn-in can be achieved by leaving on repeat 24/7.

Which digital interconnect are you using between 170 and DAC?

Best,
Mark

[worrasf]

Which digital interconnect are you using between 170 and DAC?

Best,
Mark

Hi Mark - sounding better as time goes on.
I'm using a cable made for me by Mike Homar via AoS forum - I have 2 of his cables and they sound better than any others I have tried.

Steve

[worrasf]

So what format do you store the music in ... And what do you use for playback?


Hi Hamish,

I've experimented with a few different file types such as AIFF and Apple lossless (AAC - M4a) and to my ears through my kit the Apple Lossless sounds every bit as good as the others and of course is a fraction of the file size.

Over the last few weeks I have been archiving some of my vinyl to the iPod so have had an opportunity to directly compare the results to the original. I use Audacity to record to my iMac From my Technics /Quad 33 as an AIFF file. I then use Click Repair and DeNoise (http://www.clickrepair.net/) to clean up the file and save as an Audacity project. I have then exported as AIFF or AAC (M4a) and the M4a files sound every bit as good.

Playback is from my iPod 160Gb classic through the wadia 170i Caiman+Gator Croft 25R/S4s

Steve

Steve

[Audiocom AV]

Hi Mark - sounding better as time goes on.
I'm using a cable made for me by Mike Homar via AoS forum - I have 2 of his cables and they sound better than any others I have tried.

Steve

Hi Steve

I have tried Mike's cable and I'm very impressed!

The TeddyDock power supply also benefits from a better mains cable, even though it is only powering the Wadia dock.

Cheers,
Mark

[worrasf]

Hi Steve

The TeddyDock power supply also benefits from a better mains cable, even though it is only powering the Wadia dock.

Cheers,
Mark

Hi Mark - yes I was thinking this - the cable is a bit "flimsy" and the plug a little slack in the Wadia's socket. I'm going to cast around for a better mains cable - if you know of one please let me know.

Steve

[Ali Tait]

Mark Grant comes to mind.

[Audiocom AV]

Hi Mark - yes I was thinking this - the cable is a bit "flimsy" and the plug a little slack in the Wadia's socket. I'm going to cast around for a better mains cable - if you know of one please let me know.

Steve

Hi Steve

The Studio Connections Carbon power cable works very well with digital sources & DAC’s, and I recommend it for powering the Teddy Pardo power supply.

It is available here;
http://www.audiocominternational.com/carbon-screen-power-cord-p-241.html

This cable is sold off the reel, so you will need to terminate it. The best connectors for the job are the Furutech, use a Furutech 1363 mains plug (Gold or Rhodium), and a FI-11, or FI-28 IEC connector.

Best,
Mark

[worrasf]

Many thanks Mark

Steve