Comparing Wadia vs. Meitner

I think (and I know, my thoughts are like golden nuggets of wisdom that shine light on all that is dark....kidding) that the hearing aid comment may have come off differently in print than what the posters intent actually was. (I could be wrong?)

But, I for one am a bit of a smart ass and sarcastic at times, which in print, can often sound offensive. So, I try to be very aware of that and save the "funny" comments for live conversations with people who know my true nature and can see my disarming charm. Of course, there may be a history in other threads between members. But from what I read in this thread, at worst, a thoughtless comment was made, and response was returned before the emotion subsided which heightened the emotion.

Moving on - I am anxious to hear the comments and opinions on the actual comparison - If I read this thread correctly, 2 digital sources were compared, but nothing has been stated about either players performance or characteristics other than: they are both excellent but different in what they do, a quote from a non-poster, and a we liked this one. What did you like? what did you not like? How were they different? That's the stuff we want to hear about. I for one may never have 2 players of this caliber in my system on the same day, so I am very intrigued. I doubt that I will be swayed in my decision to go with a stock Wadia 861 SE, but that is me for various reasons (which I'll share if anyone cares), and I still want to hear other's opinions - because? I do not know, other than the possibility that I like to drive myself nuts occasionally.

I appreciate hearing all perspectives, and pledge not to get offended or become offensive. Please understand though, that I am human, so do not be too disappointed if I too have a human moment with a thoughtless or defensive post.

Jim

Wow, who knew this seemingly innocent thread would ruffle so many feathers? I have to say to Tireguy and Fmpnd that Audiogon would be lessened by your absence. However perhaps everyone is being just a bit touchy here. Lets remember, we're talking about steroes, not politics or religion. So let's everybody take a deep breat and lets start over. Perhaps a good place to start would be the original poster completing his shootout by giving his impressions of the Meitner gear. As for everone else, peace.

I love it. A bunch of Meitner bandwagoners afraid they might not have the best. Other posts may have been just people justifying their purchase.

If you bought it then it must be the best - right?

keep the battle going this is fun.

Come on shoot some arrows at me. Let them fly.

Drhst20 thanks for your evaluations. They were very specific. saw Fmpnd's system it's quite a bit better than your system how did his system sound compared to yours? I am wondering if you could have been so amazed by his system quality that you couldn't really evaluate the differences between the Meitner and Wadia in just a short time frame? I know I have heard excellent systems before and was so shocked at the difference that it was difficult to comprehend what I was hearing let alone trying to compare two components would not have been possible at that time do to being in shock over the differences I was hearing. if you compared the Meitner in your system I'm sure if would have been easier to learn what the exact differences were over the Wadia simply because it's your system and you know what it's capable of and sounds like. I have a Wadia 861 statement it will be upgraded to SE status and latest statement specification including the new speed of light magnet modifications by GNSC in October I am hoping to do a comparison against Frankg's CDSD/DCC2 combination [hello Frank has the Meitner CDSD transport arrived yet?]. After October sometime if possible. I will post the results if it occurs. Justin Ingram

OK, so you want me to compare the Meitner to the Wadia? I think that is a fair question. After all, this forum is really here so that we could discuss different equipment and rely on others experience and opinion of this stuff. After all, not all of us have the availability or time to travel and listen. And of course, it should be fun to discuss this stuff too. I know that I relied heavily on others opinion in putting together my system.

As many have pointed-out, I have not made mention of the Meitner characteristics. This was on purpose. After all, there are countless others with far more experience who have summarized their thoughts far more eloquently than I could. What could I add to all of that? And far be it for me to give less than the highest praise for a piece of equipment that undoubtedly gives tremendous satisfaction to so many. Additionally, I didn’t want to create a firestorm of controversy. I knew that regardless of how neutral I cast things, there would be those that need to read into them and make interpretations and accusations and excuses and other rationalizations. My whole integrity would be called into question for sure.

I have to say that I went into this with an open mind. For the past year, I have read the hype. The mantra from the date of inception and the debuts at all the shows have been “the best”, “nothing comes close (and I have heard it all)”, “digital perfection”, etc. It would seem that if anything could unite the audiophile world, this would be it. I was prepared to potentially sell my current CD player if it was clearly trumped as I expected it would be. Selling my set-up wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I had read about all those that plunked down a credit card and bought a Meitner on impulse.

The whole point of the thread was just to raise the possibility that the idea of a piece of equipment that is ‘the best’, perhaps does not exist. Can’t a handful of top CD players share the limelight? Isn’t there some room for variation in personal preference?

The CD player is great. As I said before, there is no denying that this is the pinnacle of CD playback. I am sure I would be quite happy with it if I bought it. But when I listened, I have to say that my jaw didn’t drop, my eyes didn’t pop out of my head, and the clouds didn’t part the sky. Was I expecting too much? Did all the discussion perhaps set things up so that anything less than being propelled to audio nirvana would be a bit of a disappointment? After all, I was expecting a revolution. I was expecting something I had never heard before. I was expecting to be blown-away by my first taste of SACD. Surely, it would rank right up there with my wedding day and my son being born.

So in the end, I believe that both players can be placed at the top. They each have their own attributes and characteristics. Of course, everybody would like to know what they are. In the grandest sense of generality, I would put it this way. The Meitner conveys the music with smoothness and lushness, and the Wadia conveys the music with clarity and precision. That’s it. Don’t over-read into it. Don’t say that the Meitner is as detailed as the Wadia without the harshness. Don’t say this means the Meitner is like vinyl. And don’t say that this means the Wadia is unmusical. It is simply the most striking difference between the two. Neither has absolute correctness. One just has to realize what is important to them when they listen to music and recreate what they enjoy about a performance.

Here’s a general guideline for those trying to decide between the 2. If you really like much of what the Wadia 800 series does, then you will probably love the highest refinement of these characteristics. If you dislike most of what the Wadia 800 series does, then you will probably not like it even with these refinements. After all, if you don’t like the Wadia philosophy, then spending huge sums of money will probably not let you like it.

I remain open minded to hear the Meitner again. Jerry has new speakers on order, and I'd love to know how these sound. If he is willing, we could do another comparison once he get's these up and running in the next several months.

So here's to a good, civil discussion,
Rob