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Comparing Wadia vs. Meitner

I believe that this represents the pinnacle of CD playback. Jerry, a fellow audiogoner was gracious enough to allow me to audition his broken-in Meitner CDSD / DCC2. In my system, the boxes were switched with mine, so they each had the same cables, power conditioning, power cords, and stand. Both were run directly into the amp without a preamp. My CD playback system includes the Wadia 27ix / 270se with the latest software and full modifications from Great Northern Sound. Also included are Elrod Statement power cords, a Hydra conditioner, and a Mana rack.

In short, I think that these are both excellent units. They are also very different in what they do. In my system, it was easy to distinguish between the two within several minutes. It probably comes down to personal preference in deciding which is best here. I’ll just simply say that I’m keeping the Wadia because I think it is a perfect match for my musical preferences, my system, and what I appreciate in music.

What I love about the Wadia is its ability to convey an (absolutely) astonishing amount of detail without being harsh or fatiguing. Not only is the melody and rhythm imaged with speed and coherence, but you can actually appreciate the musicians technique, the weight and color of the instrument(s), and the ambience of the recording venue. It simply presents a convincing image of a live event. The emotional quality is all there. You can understand what separates a great and (justly) famous professional musician from a pretty good one. Everything is properly proportioned, the soundstage is appropriate and believable, everything is audible, and the background is silent. From complex orchestral pieces and opera, to vocals, to solo instruments, I do not believe there are any weak spots. Again, it simply convinces and fools the mind into believing that you are sitting in front of the performance. I have frequented the concert halls, and I’d hate to say it but sometimes the recording is better.

I think that just about anybody could probably be happy with either of these 2 systems. Of course, curiosity makes us wonder if the grass is greener. I am just very content with where I am right now. I'd invite Jerry to make some comments when he gets a chance.

Rob
rtn1
sm2727
115 posts
 
Could I interject something here? The relative cost? How much is the Wadia we are talking about and how much is the EMM labs...total. The Wadia doesn't need a pre- amp and Meitner learned that and incorporated it into his latest piece. The analog improvement that come from one less component(with two to four gain stages) has always meant more to me than the digital wars. I had a Pass dac a few years back that had no upsampling...just a balanced dac with a volume control and an excellent output stage and volume control. Admittedly I had a cec tl-1 with it, but to my ears it sounded better than the EMM labs Dac 6 with the Phillips 1000 and a BAT VK 51 preamp on cd. The sacd was great of course, but I think cd playback is the key to happiness with the lack of sacd titles.
Back to the Wadia...it does sound different. I heard a musician tellme it sounds more like a studio monitor. The Audio Aero, Mephisto etc. sound good and different. The AA for example sounds smooth and analog like, but the Wadias have always moved me more like a concert would. More balls. Lots of good machines out there. I think some of us need to spend more time hearing equipment (supporting dealers) and less talking about it. (me included).
For example I can't believe how many people I've heard say SACD is boring. I think that is because you have been listening to cd for so long that you need that leading edge on the sound to recognize it as good. SACD sounds more like a record or live music to my ears. But I bet I could find 50 comments on this site that say sacd sounds flat.
henryhk
648 posts
 
Alfatone..u got it wrong. As Tireguy points out the CDSD upconverts PCM into DSD: if you have the optical link then the DSD signal directly goes to the DCC2. Essentially converting redbook into SACD (though obviously no way good as SACD). As such, anyone who is trying Meitner gear without using the optical link is missing its critical feature & technology. A lot of universal players out there do the exact opposite: they convert SACD data into PCM before conversion into analogue, which is quite non sensical if u ask me.
mejames
986 posts
 
have been debating whether I should post this or not for awhile now I probably shouldn't have a feeling it's going to offend some people definitely. But here we go hang on.
I thanks to Frankg for bringing his Meitner stuff over we finally directly a/b compared the GNSC modified Wadia 861 se statement with speed off light modifications to the SACD DSD output of the Meitner DCC 2 converter/preamp feed by a Alex Peychev modified Meitner/Phillips 1000 transport both were fed through the dcc2 preamp so switching between units only took a few seconds to accomplish. well the difference was maybe 1 extremely small hair favoring the Meitner SACD performance over the Wadia's Redbook performance,mostly the difference was in top end clarity and delicacy but was very subtle difference and this was with the Wadia playing the Redbook layer of the same hybrid disks the Police and Diana Krall mostly. Now the difference between Redbook was so extremely slight it was barely audible ive heard bigger differences switching polarity on an AC plug orientation actually slightly preferred the Wadia but the difference was so close it really didn't matter. Also thought the Meitner preamp slightly degraded the Wadia sound to me. Really thought the Meitner was vastly superior guess it's really not all that it's actually cracked up to be. Justin Ingram
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
Justin in the Meitner's defense, you were using the modified phillips, which is a crutch instead of an aid. The CDSD takes it to a yet another level- everyone who has had the phillips and goes to the CDSD says the same thing.
henryhk
648 posts
 
Mejames: are u saying u heard very little diff btwn Meitner gear playing the SACD layer of a hybird disc vs Wadia playing the PCM layer? Really? Hard to believe. I haven't listened to the Wadia w/ the modifications but did so w/ the reg 861: no contest in favor Meitner for me at least. It was more transparent, more back to end depth, far greater decay, etc. Hmmm. Is it the modifications or is it the system compatibility? Have no idea. Strange. The diff btwn redbook CD performance should be smaller, I agree.
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