I have one too, and it has helped me to rediscover the joys of my California Audio Labs Alpha tubed DAC, which is what I run it through (after the signal has first run through a Monarchy DIP, but it sounded pretty great even before I added the DIP to the mix). All my songs are downloaded/stored in Apple Lossless format (*not* MP3) in my iTunes, and I second what Ejlif says about songs sounding even better through the iPod/Wadia/DAC combo than through his transport/DAC combo (or the Alpha's matching CAL Delta transport in my case).
I see a lot of 'brand new - opened once' Wadia 170i Transports for sale here on Audiogon and it makes me wonder if others gave it a shot and it just didn't do it for them. To me, it is a device that has finally combined convenience and great sound with little compromise (and I'm a tube/vinyl guy who doesn't really mind 'inconvenience'). I love just picking a genre like "Jazz", setting it to 'Shuffle Songs", and then letting it roll (I work from home now and have music playing pretty much all day and evening). I've also had a lot of fun tube-rolling in the Alpha thanks to the addition of the Wadia.
Can't hurt to take a chance on one if you have a DAC. They are still in demand and sell all day long here on Audiogon for $300-$325, so it may cost you $50 or so to give it a shot and then sell it if you don't like it.
Good luck!
I see a lot of 'brand new - opened once' Wadia 170i Transports for sale here on Audiogon and it makes me wonder if others gave it a shot and it just didn't do it for them. To me, it is a device that has finally combined convenience and great sound with little compromise (and I'm a tube/vinyl guy who doesn't really mind 'inconvenience'). I love just picking a genre like "Jazz", setting it to 'Shuffle Songs", and then letting it roll (I work from home now and have music playing pretty much all day and evening). I've also had a lot of fun tube-rolling in the Alpha thanks to the addition of the Wadia.
Can't hurt to take a chance on one if you have a DAC. They are still in demand and sell all day long here on Audiogon for $300-$325, so it may cost you $50 or so to give it a shot and then sell it if you don't like it.
Good luck!