I had a 121 for a week. It had good sound quality but I didn't keep it long enough to go into detail, but detail was a strong suit. I bought it to use as an external DAC to use with my aging Arcam CD33 player. The problem was the DAC's relays clicked loudly once per second any time I paused the player, clicked loudly a few times at the beginning of each song, and had momentary dropouts about every sixth song. It also cut off the first few notes of a song frequently. No good. Might have been great with another source but that's beside the point for me. Know how great it is when your mate loves a new component? How 'bout when she walks buy and says "what's that damn clicking?" Also, the blue lights are way too bright-light up the whole room at night and there's no power switch.
Wadia service? Sorry to say it might be good but if it is they are very slow. I called once and after no response in 24 hours I called again. A really nice and concerned guy answered and said he would talk to engineering and get back to me. It has been over two weeks and no response. I know there are fans out there like that dealer in Seattle but they failed to win me over.
Meanwhile, the online dealer that sells music directly has been extremely helpful. The Wadia went back, a new Rega DAC from them got plugged in last night, and it works perfectly and sounds better than the Arcam CD player. No clicking. No bright lights.
Why didn't I buy the Wadia local? I tried. I called the dealer to inquire about one but he said they sounded clinical even though he's never heard one. Been down that road before with that guy.
Wadia service? Sorry to say it might be good but if it is they are very slow. I called once and after no response in 24 hours I called again. A really nice and concerned guy answered and said he would talk to engineering and get back to me. It has been over two weeks and no response. I know there are fans out there like that dealer in Seattle but they failed to win me over.
Meanwhile, the online dealer that sells music directly has been extremely helpful. The Wadia went back, a new Rega DAC from them got plugged in last night, and it works perfectly and sounds better than the Arcam CD player. No clicking. No bright lights.
Why didn't I buy the Wadia local? I tried. I called the dealer to inquire about one but he said they sounded clinical even though he's never heard one. Been down that road before with that guy.