Turntables better than a Wadia 861SE w/ Statement

This thread has taken a comical bent and I'd like to thank Weisselk for the entertainment.

I was worried for a moment. It's not every day we see a thread revived after FIVE YEARS of dormancy, only to become a platform for dealer adverts.

Fortunately I've heard OMA's system. I spent three enjoyable hours with it at RMAF 2008. Mr. Weiss clearly understands that no one with half a brain or even one functioning ear would accept an "invitation" to "compare" a low resolution, limited bandwidth medium with a high resolution, broad bandwidth one. Heh, that was clever!

Still, the humor was subtle. It might have tempted some well-heeled but clueless audiophile, if there were such an animal, so I was happy to see Mr. Weiss clarify his humorous intentions. Repeating his mock invitation AFTER Aoliviero debunked the whole question made it clear. From that point, no one could accuse OMA of pandering to the gullible on a supposedly non-commercial forum.

It's all in good fun. The mock adverts weren't serious. We needn't bother visiting. I'd even wager there's no NY area showroom at all!

Good one, OMA. Had us going for a bit...

Here's a nice comparison:

I have a Wadia 27ix/270 dac and transport and a VPI Aries 3 / Dynavector XV-1s. The digital rig costs 2x more than my analog set up while the analog set up is at least 2x more musical and enjoyable than the digital one.

Hi Doug,

I was pandering. And there is an OMA Soho Showroom, and you are invited to visit any time. And I will play the $40,000 plus Wadia system 9 against our turntables, and people can decide for themselves. Obviously, I am highly biased, but enough said.

Jonathan Weiss
Oswaldsmill Audio

I agree that CD is sometimes jaw dropping good, however, there is simply more information on vinyl. The better my system gets, the more clear that Vinyl is better...even if vinyl, playing on a less than perfect turntable with wow, flutter, scratches, dings, pops, etc. Even if s's sizzle, and bass is boomy, there is simply more music on vinyl.

To me it depends on the recording. I have so many CD's that completely involve me in the music...why not enjoy them to the fullest? I enjoy analog playback as much as anyone I know, and I'm deeply invested in that format and gear as well, but there is no way I would go without a great CD player in my system. Having/enjoying both at a high level is the only thing that makes sense to me personally. YMMV.

The argument over which is better is kind of silly.