Need help from Wadia and ML CD player owners

I had an 830 and today have an 861 directly connected to a FPB300. The 861 would be best, but I bought it used for 4500$, and it will still be above your limit. One of the advantages of the 861 is that the sound does not degrade that much with lower digital playback levels. All the older models show more significant degradation of sound if you use the digital volume control to lower the volume by 20 db or so.

Try to get an 860x to fit in your price range (may be difficult). The 860X is much better than the 850. Honestly I think that the 850 is an 830 with the chassis of the 860 + a more expensive transport, that's it. You only get the look and feel of the more expensive 860, not the sound. By the way the 830 it a great sounding unit, so is the 850 - just more expensive.

Hope that helps - Uli

Hi Jimmy,
I've owned quite a few Wadia players(23,850,860,861)and they're all fine machines. The 850 gives you the monocoque chassis of the 860 series and looks cool and it's built like a tank. When you move up to an 860 series player, there's quite a big difference, not only in circiutry, but maybe more importantly, there are two more substantial separate power supplies which allow it not only to sound more refined, but more solid sounding. The 860 can be further upgraded in the future to bring it up to the 861 level should you choose to do that later on. You should be able to buy a used 860 player for close to what you want to spend and end up with an excellent player and still have the flexibility to improve upon it if you feel the need. You might want to contact Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound(651-436-8912 or shuntley@greatnorthernsound.com); he has intimate knowledge of the Wadia players and he's a great guy too and will be happy to help guide you through your decision. Good luck...Skip

I like the 390s and prefer its more dynamic sound versus the 39. The volume control is analog which is better than digital. There are a number of cd players with digital controls in your price range, many from mid-fi manufacturers, but I am not aware of other hi-end units besides the ones you mentioned. The 390s is a relatively new model, and it might be hard to get a used one for $3500.

The Wadia 850 is actually a lot closer in sound to the 860 than it is to the 830, so don't let the above post scare you off of an 850. It is an excellent machine and worth its price, but granted not quite as good as the 860/861. I would strongly recommend staying with Wadia over a Levinson 39.