Will Wadio ever make an SACD player?


Curious if anyone has heard rumors, innuendos or other unsubstantiated gossip i can cling to.
kublakhan
Kublakhan,

Wadia has already made another CDP. They have a new flagship model that has been around for several years. I would guess that they are deciding on whether it would be financially feasible to bring it to market. Perhaps someone with firsthand experience with the company can comment.

I asked someone at the company several years ago whether they would develop a machine with SACD capability. The response was something like, what's the point? Meaning they felt that Wadia on redbook sounds better than SACD. The company line is that if something comes along that makes a significant improvement, they would welcome it. And also, that the current models would potentially be upgradable for future technologies.

Rob
Rob,

The comment that Wadia does not see any point to SACD is interesting. That apparently is the opinion of the Theta people as well. In the manufacturer's comment to Stereophile's review of the Theta Generation VIII DAC, the manufacturer noted that its DAC would be retrofittable for SACD playback, once a digital interconnection protocol is worked out, but they thought redbook CD playback done correctly is superior.

So far, I have found really good CD playback to be better than the SACD machines I've heard. By really good CD machines I mean, specifically, the Audionote DAC-4 and DAC-5 and the Naim CDS3 (the machine I own, it replaced a Sony SCD-1). Other machines I heard and liked include the Audio Aero Capitole, the Burmester 001, and the MSB machine. I saw and heard the Audio Aero universal player at CES, but I cannot really comment on its sound; the system, however, sounded good.
Kublakhan - last I heard, Wadia is "reorganizing" yet again. This is like the fourth time in the last two years. Rumor is that their design team has left the company.
Rtnl,
I recently aquired EMM LABS CD/SACD equipment. It's CD playback is widely,acclaimed as one, if not, the best available.
SACD playback on their equipment is a whole different league......there is simply no comparison to its merits over CD. That's the point!