Is Wadia 861se close to the best?

That is a good question. I will get to the answer after I share my story with you on my experiences.

I have been trying out different CDP for the last year. I have a Sony XA7ES, a very bang on the buck player
,Class "A" with excellent PRAT, new 5 years ago was $3000, today used $975. In its time ,it compared very similar to the Levinson 39 cdp which cost 3x more. That is my taste, like a fast player

So I tried the Sony SACD 1 ( didn't find it musical),

Gamut 1 , I liked it but coulddn't justify the price at the time,(very good).

I tried the Audio Aero MK 11 , I could never get it to sound good, later someone told me that I should of been using copper iC's not silver ( to late now).

I tried the Linn CD 12, the best so far, but a little on the dry side.

I tried the Wadia 861 which I believe is the same or similar to the SE ? (I found that this player lacked speed, poor PRAT ).

Then I tried Mark Levinson Ref 31.5 and the 30.5 Dac , I liked it it was very good, it was a contender.

I now have ended up with the EMM Labs gear,(still waiting) I believe is the best or close to the best out there.

Please everyone, that was my experience, sorry if you feel different about my conclusions. As we all know, or should, is that this is so much component driven, it is difficult to know how this CDP will sound in your system.

The answer to your question, is audition the 2 players, and even a 3rd and a forth, until you get very excited about your purchase. A deal isn't a deal unless you know that this is your player.

Good luck

I have the 861SE with the Great Northern Sound Statement upgrade. I love it. I suggest calling Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound (www.greatnorthernsound.com for telephone number). He mods Wadia, Audio Aero and others. He is a good source for info.

Hi,

I never heard it but my friend, who has heard a lot of cd players says its defintely one of the best players around. Wadia excels in the inner details of instruments.

Good Luck!

The 861 is very good. The Great Northern Sound modified one is even better. The only player that I preferred to the modified version is the fabulous Accuphase DP-75V - similarly detailed and dynamic, but with a very analog-like presentation that keeps drawing you into the music.

The SE offers a considerable improvement over the standard 861. I lived with the 861 for almost 2 years before adding the SE upgrade.