Hey guys, as Frank pointed out, the owner of a Wadia 861 with the latest GNSC mods and I did an A/B with my Meitner DAC6 and modded Philips in my system (at his request). That A-Gon member is Drhst21 and he may chime in for more info.
In any event, for reference purposes, the speakers were Kharma Exquisites (w/diamond tweeters), amps were Tenor HP-300 monos and the cabling was mainly Harmonix (I/Cs and PCs) and speaker cables are Kharma Enigmas.
Drhst brought his lovely girlfriend along and I simply played them a couple of quick cuts and then told him to play his discs so he would be familiar with the source material to get an idea of the sound of the EMM gear. Then we placed the Wadia in the system with the same PCs and I/Cs and played the same cuts.
No to be facetious, Drhst's girlfirend stated immediately that the Wadia sounded "blah" "lifeless" and "dull!" Drhst said it was sad that the Wadia was so handily beaten. Myself, I have always liked Wadia digital products (and have owned them) and I honestly thought the Wadia would hold its own and be very close to the Meitner with maybe a slight nod to the Meitner. Shockingly, it wasn't even close. Now, this was the 861 NOT the 27ix/270se combo so that could be different.
Then, a few weeeks later, a few other A-Gon members came by with their modded Sony and Philips SACD players, one with his Arcam and Drhst again came with his Wadia 861 (which I believe went BACK to GNSC in the interim for more mods). The Meitner emerged the clear winner again by unanimous agreement. Now, in defense of those other players, they were much less costly (even with the mods) than the EMM stuff and they acquitted themselves quite well. Al agreed that the EMM stuff was more resolute BUT LESS BRIGHT and FATIGUING (and this includes the Wadia). The EMM had more air and transparency and simply never sounded bright, harsh or "digital."
Again though, you must take this comment in context and realize it's all system dependent and highly personal and subjective - in other words, all this is is our simple opinion which, together with $3.00 will buy you a Starbucks coffee!!
PS - Drhst now owns the DCC2 and is buying my Philips SACD 1000 (EMM Labs modded).
In any event, for reference purposes, the speakers were Kharma Exquisites (w/diamond tweeters), amps were Tenor HP-300 monos and the cabling was mainly Harmonix (I/Cs and PCs) and speaker cables are Kharma Enigmas.
Drhst brought his lovely girlfriend along and I simply played them a couple of quick cuts and then told him to play his discs so he would be familiar with the source material to get an idea of the sound of the EMM gear. Then we placed the Wadia in the system with the same PCs and I/Cs and played the same cuts.
No to be facetious, Drhst's girlfirend stated immediately that the Wadia sounded "blah" "lifeless" and "dull!" Drhst said it was sad that the Wadia was so handily beaten. Myself, I have always liked Wadia digital products (and have owned them) and I honestly thought the Wadia would hold its own and be very close to the Meitner with maybe a slight nod to the Meitner. Shockingly, it wasn't even close. Now, this was the 861 NOT the 27ix/270se combo so that could be different.
Then, a few weeeks later, a few other A-Gon members came by with their modded Sony and Philips SACD players, one with his Arcam and Drhst again came with his Wadia 861 (which I believe went BACK to GNSC in the interim for more mods). The Meitner emerged the clear winner again by unanimous agreement. Now, in defense of those other players, they were much less costly (even with the mods) than the EMM stuff and they acquitted themselves quite well. Al agreed that the EMM stuff was more resolute BUT LESS BRIGHT and FATIGUING (and this includes the Wadia). The EMM had more air and transparency and simply never sounded bright, harsh or "digital."
Again though, you must take this comment in context and realize it's all system dependent and highly personal and subjective - in other words, all this is is our simple opinion which, together with $3.00 will buy you a Starbucks coffee!!
PS - Drhst now owns the DCC2 and is buying my Philips SACD 1000 (EMM Labs modded).