Wadia think about expensive CD Players ?

In this case believe it or not, the more you pay for CD-player the more price you overpay. A descent $500-ish or even lower priced player can be modified with better parts so it will sound to the level of much higher-priced units.

You can consult Chris at partsconnexion.com who can guide you through the mods or perform the modifications at his lab. The wonderful thing I like about Chris that he's always available from e-mail and phone at almost any time.

Well I'm on my Nth CDP now. It all started innocently enough with a Yamaha, then a Denon (and a whole new system), then a Meridian 500 Transport (and another whole new system), then a Meridian 588, then a Cary 306/200, now a Wadia 861se.

Along the way I listened to a lot of CD players and transport/DACs etc. Several combo's were significantly better than the Wadia 861se, BUT they all cost as much as a nice Mercedes. For under $10K, Wadia 861se is king of the hill, period. Followed by the SimAudio CDP.

But you'll have to answers some questions for yourself. Is the Wadia861se worth that much more than a Rega or a Cary, or the Sim, to you personally (it was a no brainer for me). The other question then becomes, does your existing rig have enough resolution and refinement to reveal the sonic advantages of the Wadia?

As far as the direct question about a comparison against the Rega and Sony. Well it's not even a fair comparison, the Wadia costs so much more, and trounces them so defineatively.

Mefge03 is correct, about the Wadia 861 SE. But like I already said the 861 basic is a great player and is not the digital sounding Wadia that some think about other Wadia CDPs.

Happy Listening.

In my experience with direct comparisons there can be little difference between players. The differences are subtle and exagerated by direct comparisons. Synergy plays a role too. There are some great players for around $3000 that come close to the real high-end models. RA Opus 21, Ayre CX-7, Sim Audio (Nova?). I've heard many good things about the Arcam CD33. The more expensive players are better, but diminishing returns kicks in. I think the Opus 21 with good isolation and a good power cord is a great CDP.

considering any player over $1000 that does NOT do SACD is a bad choice, IMHO.

The BAT VkD5 is overly warm (syrupy... yuck), to an extreme, at least the one I heard. Forget that. (as a side note, tubed CD players are the answer to the question no one is asking. Tubes are for gain stages. A CD player needs no gain stages. Why are the tubes there? harmonic flavor? noise? a 'buffer' (lame idea IMHO)....)

Under $1000, the XA7ES is hard to beat if you want CD only.

I still think the SCD-1 in the $2-3k range is a killer CD player, an epic SACD player, and ripe for mods if your tastes run in that direction.

Wadia makes some nice stuff that seems really well built, but the stability of the company leaves a lot to be desired. They seem flaky, lacking direction. They have an SACD piece supposedly coming out this fall. It will be pricey, but perhaps worthy of the coin level.

YMMV,
-Ed