New Wadia 381i vs Puccini

Heard the 381 last week at my dealers showroom. Having made a time for the demonstration I arrived, listended for a hour and was really impressed. Then discovered the dealers assitant had hooked up the Wadia 781 instead of the 381. Switch out to 381. The 381 was definitely less impressive than the 781, lacked the scale and power of the 781 in (perhaps an unfair) direct comparison. Later compared it directly to the Sim Supernova. Wadia 381 was better and the Sim sounded flat and uninspiring in comparison. The 381 was, to my ears, much more musical and less analytical than some other Wadia's I had heard (not the 781). Anyway, will try to get a home demonstration of the 381 as things always sound different at home than they do in the dealers showroom (unfamiliar equipment etc). I'll post the result.

Hey Msw1, good choice. I havent heard the GNSC modded player but have the stock 381 spinning now in my system on home demo. Very detailed but less so than the Esoteric (and more than my Marantz SA11). Lots of air around the voices and instruments, places singers slighty back in the soundstage but very believable. Good rythym, lacks the slight bloom of the Marantz but the bass is tight and tuneful on all types of music (been listening to DSOTM, jazz, classical piano, cello, double bass and some blues so far). Only refused to play one disc (the Esoteric SA50 has been the only player I've demo'ed that has played every disc I've thrown at it). The black shape though does look like a Stanley Kubrick prop left over from 2001! Anyhow, an impressive player and is probably as good as I need for my current system (Simaudio i7 and Focal 1027be's). The MF AMS and the Wadia 781 were much better players across the board but expensive for my budget and would push me too far down the slippery upgrade slope!