Bombaywalla: I bought a Wadia 861 basic about a year and a half ago, and, after a lot of thought, I decided to take the plunge and send it to Steve for the Reference upgrade. I just got it back a few days ago, so it's not even close to being burned in, but I already know that it was money well spent. I can't say enough good things about my experience with Steve and the improvements the upgrade has already made to an already fine CD player.
Review: Great Northern Sound Co. Wadia 860 CD Player
Category: Digital
For all of you now currently using Wadia cd players, I have found a way to make them sound even better.
I have owned Wadia 860s and 861s in the past, and after having recently sold my 861, I was unable to find anything else to put in its place, that I was satisfied with, so I started looking around for another Wadia.
I noticed that Steve Huntley, at the Great Northern Sound Company, had an 860 that he was performing his mods on.
For all you who may not be familiar with Steve, he is a former Wadia employee who has a series of modifications for Wadias.
I had always been a little skeptical as to how you could really improve on the Wadia performance, but was also very curious to audition one of Steve's players.
Well, I am glad to admit, that I was skeptical for no reason, and it is possible to improve on the performance.
I have had the Wadia in my system for a couple of weeks now. I have auditioned it with everything from classical to 60s rock to current rock, both live and studio recordings.
Everthing that Steve claims is absolutely true. The overall sonic improvement is immense. I immediately noticed a huge increase in the bottom end. Both the highs and mids were punched up as well.
The background is noticeably darker, as to be non-existent, the noise floor dropped off, and the soundstage became a lot wider. The overall sound became a lot warmer than any cd player that I have owned, including my past Wadias and a Levinson 390s that I had in my system for a while.
I am still in awe, and Steve says that it will get even better as it burns in.
I think that I have found a keeper. I can find no apparent weaknesses, and I now have the performance that I was looking for from my Levinson amps, and my Revel speakers.
Anyone who is interested should visit the Great Northern Sound Company website.
Steve is a very nice guy to deal with. He kept me informed as to the progress of the player, as well as checking up on me after I received the player, to make sure that I was happy with it.
Associated gear
Levinson 380 preamp, Levinson 33H monoblocks, Revel Ultima Studio speakers
For all of you now currently using Wadia cd players, I have found a way to make them sound even better.
I have owned Wadia 860s and 861s in the past, and after having recently sold my 861, I was unable to find anything else to put in its place, that I was satisfied with, so I started looking around for another Wadia.
I noticed that Steve Huntley, at the Great Northern Sound Company, had an 860 that he was performing his mods on.
For all you who may not be familiar with Steve, he is a former Wadia employee who has a series of modifications for Wadias.
I had always been a little skeptical as to how you could really improve on the Wadia performance, but was also very curious to audition one of Steve's players.
Well, I am glad to admit, that I was skeptical for no reason, and it is possible to improve on the performance.
I have had the Wadia in my system for a couple of weeks now. I have auditioned it with everything from classical to 60s rock to current rock, both live and studio recordings.
Everthing that Steve claims is absolutely true. The overall sonic improvement is immense. I immediately noticed a huge increase in the bottom end. Both the highs and mids were punched up as well.
The background is noticeably darker, as to be non-existent, the noise floor dropped off, and the soundstage became a lot wider. The overall sound became a lot warmer than any cd player that I have owned, including my past Wadias and a Levinson 390s that I had in my system for a while.
I am still in awe, and Steve says that it will get even better as it burns in.
I think that I have found a keeper. I can find no apparent weaknesses, and I now have the performance that I was looking for from my Levinson amps, and my Revel speakers.
Anyone who is interested should visit the Great Northern Sound Company website.
Steve is a very nice guy to deal with. He kept me informed as to the progress of the player, as well as checking up on me after I received the player, to make sure that I was happy with it.
Associated gear
Levinson 380 preamp, Levinson 33H monoblocks, Revel Ultima Studio speakers