Has Anyone heard The Wadia 581i se CD player?

Hello Jppenn, There are over a dozen modifications done during a Statement upgrade, which includes damping the interior of the box, installing blackgate caps and installing a new board. I used to have a file of the breakdown from Great Northern Sound in a computer file, but I can't find it on my computer. All you have to do is contact Steve @ Great Northern Sound and request the modification file for upgrading a Wadia 581se. There are three mods: Standard, Reference and Statement. Good luck! Steve does very good work. Stan

Hi I actually own the Wadia 581Se and it is a wonderful player. The bass is very controlled and the stereo image is very wide. I had all the Wadia players since the 850 and must say that this one is two steps above all the other ones.

The new Wadia has better stereo image than the older ones and is also very lively and musical. You do not need to upgrade your player to get worldclass sound.

However never listen to a player that is not fully played in. It takes about 1000 (YES) hours to be played in. I put my one on repeat for 6 weeks day and night before even do a good listening. Before that it did not sound good.

Peter

Stan, Hal, and I put a lot of posts on that other thread that would've helped here, but I suspect Stan is reluctant to invest the time if this thread will only be pruned too. Stan and I both had 861se's, and we both agree this unit is substantially better. The only caveat about the GNSC mod is a possible obstacle in the upgrade path to the 781 (if and when that happens).

About upgrading a 581 version to a 781 version. I got the confirmation today from Wadia. Just wait another month or two...

"...The 581se will be upgradeable to the 781 or 781i...
Martin Cooper"

Chris10an,

When you talked to Wadia did they mention what transport they were going to use in the 781. I thought I heard a rumor that they were trying to secure the Esoteric transport.