Wadia 850 repair? Suggested replacement?

Try Stereo Exchange first. They can definitely fix it as long as they can get the part. Even if Wadia says they don't have any left, SE does so much business, they may still have left over parts. 

If they can't help, call Resolution Audio and ask for Steve. If he can't do anything, plan on getting a new CD player. After him, there's really no one else to go to.

One thing you want to do is check your remote. If you push the buttons down too far, they can get stuck in the down position. If you're not aware of this issue, it will drive you crazy. If the open/close button gets stuck, it can definitely trick you into thinking something is wrong with the transport.  

If you end up needing a new player, I still have a 302 and an 861SE. Both of those are better sounding players than the 850. I had one for 5+ years and was able to compare them at the same time in the same system. If you like Wadia, you should also like Ayre, Resolution Audio and Aesthetix.

If he can get the parts, I don't think he'll have any issues fixing your 850. He had no problem turning my 861 into an 861SE for me. The SE upgrade is just a transport, so its really the same exact job.

In the mean time, if you come across a good used 302, its definitely a nice upgrade from the 850 (at least I think so). Also, if you would consider just a dac, Wadia's new products are outstanding, and the prices are very fair for what they give you. They brought some of the original Wadia people back and they're off to a good start.

Welcome to NY. The techs that work for SE are very good, but that's no excuse for the attitude. I wouldn't put up with that either.

" One of them is Ben Jacoby in Brooklyn with "High End Audio Repair". Anyone here have experience with Ben? Although if Steve will recommend him then I believe he is more than capable of repairing my unit :-)"

I don't know him, but I have heard good things about him.

It just occurred to me that Wadia was bought out not long ago by the group that owns ARC and McIntosh. Even though this is the third time for them, I think its a good thing. The company is now well funded and they brought back some of the original Wadia people. Your 850 was made during that era, so someone there has direct experience with it. Quite often, when a business like this changes owners, the buyer ends up with some NOS parts. I would call them. You have nothing to lose.

This is a long shot, but I would also ask Wadia if you can use a transport from one of the other players. The upgrade for my 861 to SE status was just the transport. Maybe they kept the old ones. Find out if they're compatible with the 850, and if they are maybe they'll give you one.

" I'll bet you thousands,of dough-nuts, that the Oppo,in such a set, Blows away the old Wadia--even though it was great--way back then."

I'll take that bet. A Wadia 850 will make a 105 or 203 sound defective on Redbook. And even though its old, the 850 will easily surpass the Oppo in many ways. Its definitely a more advanced player.

" Dear George,
Have you made the comparison?
From the forcefullness of your comment I most sincerely 'doubt' it.)

The same can be said of you. The Oppo 205 isn't coming out until next year, so how can you compare it to anything? Also, you don't have an 850 now, and your posts suggest that you're never owned one. You would have said so if you did. So how did you make the comparisons that George didn't?

I didn't realize you were joking, but I don't get the part about 16 year old technology. (actually its more than 16 years. something like 18-20. I had my 850 in 1997.) 

Here's a list of features that the Wadia has over the Oppo.

-Transport. There's just no comparison. The transport alone is worth more than the Oppo itself.

-The analog stage. Fully balanced, 0 negative feedback, parts quality.

-The designers. Wadia and a few others practicly wrote the book on high end digital playback. I'm not saying that Oppo doesn't have good designers. They do. But guys like Steve Huntly are in another league.

-Volume control. It comes in 2 parts. First is the digital volume control that you actually adjust while listening. The second is global gain settings. There's a series of dip switches you can set to raise or lower the overall gain. This allows you to keep the volume as close to 100 as you can. Also, if you're dealing with components that are sensitive to gain, such as very efficient speakers, you can have issues like gain related noise/hissing, or an overly sensitive volume control.

-Its impervious to external vibrations. (case and feet design).

-Most of what's going into the Oppo is video related. For a player that sells for around $500, how much money went into sound quality? It can't be that much.

I'm sure I could come up with a few more examples, but this should do. Put these players side by side, and there will be no doubt as to the difference in SQ.