A: I cannot afford to buy whatever I want - though I sure wish I could.
B: I really like the Esoteric (others above commented that it is plain vs. the Wadia). Perhaps it is my active system (Krell amp/Wilson/Jeff Rowland pre) that does not produce the "dull" or "plain" performance with the Esoteric. Additionally, I don't believe there is better build quality and longevity than with the Esoteric brand!
The DCS (just an older Delius, not even the firewire version - aka 1394) is terrific and I am just using a computer to a Slim Devices Duet to run it. The only thing that would make it better would be a 6 channel analog output! Then I would run my Esoteric into for both clock and the DSD out via digital into an upgrade for the 1394 to get full 5.1 channel SACD.
Again, I think the Esoteric V. Wadia comparison on comparable priced models is going to be a matter of personal preference and system matching more so than one being better than the other.
