BAT VK-D5 or Wadia 860ix



Can anyone describe the differences between the two from personal experience? Which one sounds better than the other, or at this price range, does it become a matter of taste as oppose to sonic differences?

Thanks
dannyv
My system consists of a Wadia 860x CD player, a BAT VK500 amplifier, Martin-Logan reQuest speakers, Nordost Quattro Fil interconnects XLR and Nordost SPM Reference speaker cables. In addition, there is a PS Audio P300 feeding the Wadia, one PS Audio 20-amp high current outlet for the speakers and one PS Audio 20-amp high current outlet for the amp. I run the Wadia straight into the VK500, no preamp. My Wadia 860X recently underwent the “Reference Upgrade”, at Great Northern Sound Company, a Steve Huntley designed modification. You can clearly “see” musicians standing at the front, sides and rear of the recorded acoustic. In fact, the sound suspends belief like a great movie or a great book and surrounds you with the recorded acoustic so convincingly you forget you’re listening to a CD. I'd go with the Wadia because Great Northern Sound Company can take it up to SACD performance levels. Good luck
i own a bat vkd5 se but recently had the chance for an extended, sober listen to the wadia. i like the bat but, there is no comparison. the wadia is smoother, more extended, more lifelike & closer to analog. all this despite my view that my friends system did not please me as much as my mine. now, i'm trying to figure whether to hotrod the bat or trade for wadia.
jon
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