Has Anyone heard The Wadia 581i se CD player?

Yes, the 581se is a marvelous piece. It is the best Wadia product I have heard, and I've owned several (16, 270i,27, 861se). We discussed this extensively on another thread, but site admin has removed most of the posts and moved the thread it to the "Wadia Owners Club", and I have yet to discover the direct navigation to it.

I own a Wadia 581se with Great Northern Sound Statement upgrade. Unfortunately, I've never heard the unit as a stock unit. My player is the best digital playback that I've had in my system. Previous players are: Emm Labs CDSA-SE, Wadia 861se with (and without) Great Northern Sound Statement upgrade, and Meridian 508.24. My Wadia 581se's biggest strengths in cd mode are: soundstaging, texture to voice & instruments and it's live sounding clarity and imaging. In sacd, the Wadia is even better. Sounstage size in all dimensions, for both cd and sacd, is the biggest that I have heard. Texture and pinpoint imaging is wonderful, as is attack and decay. After trying several players, this is my last stop. I have over 1000 hours on it and have never had a problem. It's built like a tank. Like Droberson, I wonder what happened to the December thread that covered all this. It disappeared from Audiogon about a month ago.

Tomer,

I hope you enjoy your new 581se. Just like you, I tried to gather as much information as possible before making the decision. I was delighted with mine from the moment I played the first disc. The 581se sounded great right out of the box. The only downside I can think of is the cost of all the SACDs you'll now want to buy ;)