Linn vs. Wadia

I was just checking out the specs on the Linn Ikemi and Wadia 830. The head-to-head comparison of the specs are quite interesting... MSRP Price: Ikemi $3500, Wadia $3250-$4000 depending on options Transport: Ikemi - proprietary design from the $20k Sondek CD12 (regarded as best CD player in the world). Hundreds of thousands went into R&D. Constructed from machined aluminum. Value of transport alone is around $2k since the Ikemi transport doubles the price of the Genki, which is essentially the same player (chassis, DAC and power supply). Wadia - dipped into the Pioneer parts bin and modified(?) the transport that originally went into sub $1k mass-market Pioneer machines. Value of transport around $200? DAC/Digital filter: Ikemi - less sophisticated variation of the Sondek, but still a proprietary 24k delta sigma design that decodes HDCD beautifully. Wadia - no HDCD decoding, because you get Digimaster (whoopie), DAC is from the same parts bin as everyone else. Chassis: Linn - same dated but functional box as their lesser models. Wadia - not much better until you move up to the 850/860. Preamp: Linn - have to use preamp or integrated, like you are supposed to in hi-end. Wadia - digitally shreds the sound up like the volume control on my personal computer. Sound: I have not heard either so I won't comment. Guess which player I'm expecting to give better sound? :) Where's the beef? I'm rather appalled that a "leader" in digital audio technology like Wadia hasn't in their over 10 year history even bothered to develop a transport that pushes the state of the art. So where are all the R&D bucks supposed to be going? I always thought that Wadia was like a pure bred Ferrari, but now I find that this "Ferrari" has a Honda engine and a Ford transmission!