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Wadia Durability Experience Questions

I am thinking of laying down big green for a new Wadia 270se or 781i. On other Wadia discussion threads I see several posts from owners with Wadia's that need repairs. I am not sure how much influence I should let that have on my decision.

At Wadia prices I expect to never need repairs. But I know that is not necessarily true. I would appreciate it if owners would share their experience on how reliable the various Wadia units are. That includes the operating history both units that did and did NOT need repairs. It may be that some models are more reliable than others.

At any rate, in the future on any thread, it would be helpful if anyone reporting on their repair experience would state the model, age, and what failed. Just stating that their Wadia xxx broke isn't all that useful. If information on age and what broke is supplied then the reader gains useful information. If a two year old unit failed I would be alarmed. If a 12 year old unit failed then it would not mean much to me but might to someone considering purchasing the same model.

This is a great forum and I enjoyed reading all of the Wadia threads. Thanks, Don
don_s
meisterkleef
146 posts
 
I've had a Wadia 860 since Dec 1997. It's been through the full 860->860x->861->861se upgrade path over the years. The only needed repairs was for an aging laser assembly (wouldn't play some CD-Rs due to lower reflectivity) which was done at the same time as the 'se' upgrade back in 2004.

I wouldn't dream of ever owning another CD player. I'll keep sending it to Wadia or Steve Huntley for repairs/upgrades.
jeffreyds
115 posts
 

I have a Wadia 850 that I bought new about 6 or 7 years ago. It has never been upgraded from stock, and I've never had a problem. In my opinion, it is still a great CD player and I have no plans to replace it.

Jeff
leg35al
10 posts
 
I am also an original owner of a troublefree Wadia 850, now more than ten years young. This one gets a fair amount of use, as it is in my main home system.

I'm also the second owner of an 830. Before I purchased it from a fellow 'Goner, he'd had its humming transformer replaced at Wadia. That owner was pleased enough with the work, but he waited more than 6 months for the repair.

If I needed upgrades or repairs, I would definitely go with Steve Huntley.
ghostrider45
449 posts
 
I had an X64.4 Dac from 1995 to 2001, powered 24x7, no issues.

I currently have:
- a Wadia 9 (2001 - current) pwwered 24x7, no issues
- Wadia 7 with GNC mods, required an alignment and door belt replacement (partly due to sitting in 100+ degree unpowered house for a month afer Katrina) - thanks to GNC for the repair.
- Wadia 2000T (1995 - current) has some issues initializing a disk (I need to install a new teflon bearing supplied courtesy of GNC, but haven't gotten there yet)

So my problems have been minor and with older mechanical items, nothing unusual in my opinion. The 2000T dates back to around 1993 and the 7 to around 1996.

In my experience the Wadia gear is very reliable.
don_s OP
271 posts
 
Thank you for all of the valuable feed back. I am encouraged by Wadia product reliability. As I expected, the units needing repairs were older ones.

Don
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