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Wadia 850 repair? Suggested replacement?

Hello,
I have a Wadia 850CDP I have owned since around 97-98 (I think). About 5 years ago it developed a problem with the loading mechanism and a CD got stuck. Wadia was able to repair and all was okay till about 2 weeks ago. Now there's a grinding sound when the drawer opens and as it reads the CD and now it will occasionally skip. I have contacted Wadia (now ARC owns them) and I'm told they no longer support it :-(
Does anyone know of a place that might be able to fix it? Preferably in the NYC area. If my fear is realized and it can no longer be repaired, what do you guys suggest as a replacement? Preferably under $5k. TIA and Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas!
jcatral14
ptss
1,964 posts
 
Why not just by a new OPPO 203 or 205 or a 105D? The sound will be better than your old Wadia;which you obviously bought for sound;plus it will give you all the new options to enjoy music. Just dump that old brick. Cheers. Pete
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Why not just by a new OPPO 203 or 205 or a 105D? The sound will be better than your old Wadia;
Really!!
On pcm Redbook, CD's which the OP obviously uses either 16/44 or 24/96, the Wadia will slay those Oppo’s

Cheers George
ptss
1,964 posts
 
Dear George,
Have you made the comparison?
From the forcefullness of your comment I most sincerely 'doubt' it.
By the way I "assume" anyone listening or looking at the OPPO knows enough to use an "Isolation" device, ie Furman P-2400 IT or Equitech 1Q ahead of it. I'll bet you thousands,of dough-nuts, that the Oppo,in such a set, Blows away the old Wadia--even though it was great--way back then. 
Come back buddy.10-4. Pete
ptss
1,964 posts
 
Try an OPPO 105D. Better audio plus so many options. Pete
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
From Mojo Music Inc.

"When a PCM file is played on a DSD or Bit Stream converter, the DAC chip has to convert the PCM to DSD in real time. This is one of the major reasons people claim DSD sounds better than PCM, when in fact, it is just that the chip in most modern single-bit DACs do a poor job of decoding PCM."

BTW: The OP’s Wadia is a very good Multibit machine converts bit perfect for PCM , not DSD/bitsteam/single bit, as the Oppo’s are.

Cheers George
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