Wadia 861SE with GNSC Statement Upgrade

I owned this unit from Steve for 2 years and only sold it as i changed front ends completely...Mine was without digital ins and outs and i was very impressed with the build out mods and the resulting quality of sound.
In addition, Steve is tops as a person both before AND after the sale...

Hope this helps,

Jake

I have the 861SE with Reference upgrade from GNSC. I still really like the looks & the sound. I don't feel compelled to change or upgrade.
As AZjake wrote - Steve is tops in pre & post sales & the best person for Wadia mods.
I also know a friend who owns an 861SE with Statement mods (what you are looking at) & he has compared his Wadia sound to other hi-end CDPs like dCS, Burmester, Accuphase, Esoteric & found that changing would be a lateral move more than anything else. FWIW. YMMV.

Hi Bombaywalla,
I had a Wadia 861se with GNSC statement upgrade. I can assure you it has nothing to compare with DCS or Esoteric top end models. The wadia was lacking in definition. It had a big sound but with little resolution or depth in soundstage. Dynamics were either on or off. It may be more musical than the old DCS P8i but only great if you only listen to rock music.

While the Wadia is a beautifully built machine and GNSC did a wonderfully neat job inside, there are better players out there.

New digital is nearly always better than old digital.