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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
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
ral
124 posts
 
Just adding to the common theme: Had an 850 for 4 years without any problems; then upgraded to 861 in 2003 and still no problems of any kind (both had GNS mods). In addition, I've never heard my Wadia players skip even once on any CD (of course I don't feed them terribly scratched CDs).
tdavism3
46 posts
 
I currently own an 850 which has modified by Steve Huntley at GNSC and previously owned an 830. The 850 has been in our system for more than 5 years and has never experienced any sort of reliability issue. I am a BIG fan of the Wadia and eagerly await reviews of the 781i. In fact, I have been hooked on Wadia products for nearly 9 years. I say, go forth and purchase the 781i (so you can tell us all how it is)! : )
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