Wadax Reference Dac and Server arrive

[nickif]

there are exciting happenings on the vinyl front that is pushing the performance too.

Please start another thread talking about that then, can’t wait to read it

Please allow me for my very personal opinion, digital is a bit boring in terms of “fun factor”. All one can say is“ today I listened to xxx, which blew my existing yyy out of the water, therefore I bought the xxx and we live happily together ever after…” of course Mike you can do a much better job than that as always Lol.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike.

how analog do they really sound? after all you have 3 superb turntables to compare against.

as far as presentation, we can no longer assign 'digital' to the Wadax combo. it sounds fully analog.....which is not to say as good as vinyl in musical terms, but completely absent of any of what we might have termed 'digital'. this is in my time of listening so far.

 

[Steve Vu]

would every system have the same results that i am getting? i can see that both ways.....but hard for me to say. my sense is any mature system would get a similar result. but i could understand how in an unfamiliar show system the essence of the magic of the Wadax could be missed. if your head is into a checklist sort of way of hearing, you are navigating a strange system too, then maybe the reality enhancing implications of the Wadax could be missed.

the Wadax does all the checklist things better too, but it's the 'whole' of everything together that takes it further, not the parts.

at shows it's hard to get your head space into sitting back and just listening to music. and not sounds. sometimes something has to catch your attention to get your head into the right place. we all deal with this challenge differently.

I understand this because I also feel the same way.

 

[spiritofmusic]

as far as presentation, we can no longer assign 'digital' to the Wadax combo. it sounds fully analog.....which is not to say as good as vinyl in musical terms, but completely absent of any of what we might have termed 'digital'. this is in my time of listening so far.

Is this in the way that stellar tape is also analog like LP, but still sounds like it's own format?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Please start another thread talking about that then, can’t wait to read it

i will.

Please allow me for my very personal opinion, digital is a bit boring in terms of “fun factor”. All one can say is“ today I listened to xxx, which blew my existing yyy out of the water, therefore I bought the xxx and we live happily together ever after…” of course Mike you can do a much better job than that as always Lol.

i respect your view of digital. from one perspective it's a compromise. yet; new music is almost 100% digitally sourced. so the question becomes how important new music might be. and then there are issues of how much time you choose to devote to listening. and the ease of listening at certain times. and falling asleep while listening.

for my priorities, and lifestyle, and interest in exploring music, digital occupies a big part of my 30-35 hours a week of dedicated 2 channel listening.

and admit that i love to listen to digital. it's fun. yet; the best vinyl or tape is 'more fun'.

 

[nickif]

i will.

i respect your view of digital. from one perspective it's a compromise. yet; new music is almost 100% digitally sourced. so the question becomes how important new music might be. and then there are issues of how much time you choose to devote to listening. and the ease of listening at certain times. and falling asleep while listening.

for my priorities, and lifestyle, and interest in exploring music, digital occupies a big part of my 30-35 hours a week of dedicated 2 channel listening.

and admit that i love to listen to digital. it's fun. yet; the best vinyl or tape is 'more fun'.

Mike,

I’m in no position to challenge your purchase decision, fully agreed that given your listening priorities, life style etc, it makes perfect sense for you to acquire the Wadax reference and it must be an excellent purchase in the long run! Congrats and enjoy!

Michael

 

[Steve Vu]

You seem to be taking my comments personally. I never said or even insinuated that the Wadax server wasn't an amazing product, maybe even the best available, even though I have never heard it. However, I have been building, assessing and listening to music servers long enough to know what is important here and what should be taken into consideration.

Unlike analog (vinyl and reel), computer-based music is not static in nature and the hardware and software paths must also be considered. That's my only point.

This has gotten off topic so I won't comment further on it.

Actually, I gave this question to Javier and got his answer as I commented. Wadax got into their business. Many companies have their music app as Aurender, Lumin, Taiko, Dcs.. and Wadax make optimal extensions to Roon.

Not all are winners but successful people are always right.

 

[matakana]

i will.

i respect your view of digital. from one perspective it's a compromise. yet; new music is almost 100% digitally sourced. so the question becomes how important new music might be. and then there are issues of how much time you choose to devote to listening. and the ease of listening at certain times. and falling asleep while listening.

for my priorities, and lifestyle, and interest in exploring music, digital occupies a big part of my 30-35 hours a week of dedicated 2 channel listening.

and admit that i love to listen to digital. it's fun. yet; the best vinyl or tape is 'more fun'.

Be interesting where several months take you further !

 

[Ultrafast69]

Mike recently initiated a great event to launch the new year capturing the magic in high end audio!

The agenda for this event would focus on hearing the differences from two top contenders highlighting digital playback; MSB and Wadax.
Mikes original configuration was the MSB Select DAC and a Taiko Extreme Server with a retail of approximately $145K and fresh to the rack is the Wadax Reference DAC and Reference Server retailing approximately at $22OK.

The Co-Host was Bending Waves, Elliot Goldman, who played 4 songs on each component grouping. Elliott was very helpful in regards to product and music knowledge.

Elliott mentioned Wadax takes complete control on construction and also builds their own DACs and clock, aside from assembly. Wadax like MSB does not believe in external word clocks and both heavily rely on circuit paths, power supplies and removal of mechanical energy as part of the build process.
Overall the recordings showed the Wadax was more resolving than the MSB, and sounding organically neutral if that’s even a term, it was very easy to hear - it checked all the boxes and never came up short in regards to sound quality. However, like any resolving system you will hear a lot more into the recording but to me this is the truth, and putting on a critical hat it’s part of the game that keeps me in the hunt.

Build quality is exceptional and that includes internal and external, unless you see it in person it’s hard to judge from the on-line photos. Mike is setting it up in the direction that looks the most stunning. He is placing the power supplies along side one another on their own shelf, with the DAC above on its own shelf versus the linear layout often seen on the web.

In regards to the Wadax server, I could not decimate what it contributed, but with the Taiko extreme I can speak to audio-grade servers and how they make a significant difference and by a wide margin so I would safely assume the Wadax Server was part of the equation. Connecting the server and DAC uses Wadax’s optical cable which does negate noise from traveling machine to machine.

I am not aware if Wadax runs it’s own software or it only depends on Roon which is what we played. With Taiko and Aurender they offer the ability to not allow processors to run fetching meta data and such that does add noise affecting sound quality, again very easy to hear so I can only imagine how Wadax approaches this in some manner, or perhaps it really doesn’t even matter as it’s already ahead across the board.

Now having the aesthetically matching server would be awesome, but with the Reference DAC alone there’s for sure enough to chew on and theres no doubt on Taikos ability and capability, it’s architecture is solid and knowing Emile, he will make USB software modifications that will blend nicely - Mike is already addressing these first world problems so time will tell us, no matter which way he turns it will be stellar.

With all of that that, I bet Wadax adds their transport to the Reference line sometime soon.

So the only caveat I can say with Wadax is not it’s sound, it’s great, and while your getting every penny of its asking price it’s still a lot of dough, especially when you look at the whole of a system to support such a beast, though in Mikes system he’s far crossed the line.

Congrats Mike and great job Elliot, enjoy in best of health!

 

[Ultrafast69]

We never heard the Wadax feed by the Taiko. The Taiko is $22k??. The Wadax server $120k??? Come on. Lets keep the Taiko comparisons to Innuos and Aurender. When my server meets its end, I will consider a Taiko. Consider. I'm more in the $9K range in component pricing.

Taiko is closer to $34, and from my understanding the Wadax with its optical cable is just over double.

 

[Kingrex]

It would be interesting to see what Taiko could do if they optimized their optical output and made a cable to utilize the Wadax DAC optical input.

 

[Steve Vu]

It would be interesting to see what Taiko could do if they optimized their optical output and made a cable to utilize the Wadax DAC optical input.

With the word "IF", maybe any companies also can create products which are better than Wadax

 

[Kingsrule]

Has anyone used/tried the Wadax dac as a preamp directly into an amplifier?
Also is there a remote?

 

[battles]

Congratulations Mike. The Wadax sounds like a hell of a pre-retirement and Xmas present! Thanks for sharing your detailed initial impressions and we look forward to hearing more in the future. Speaking for myself, I’m disappointed to hear that the Select sounds a notch below the Wadax, but having a good vinyl rig (but clearly not world class like yours and others) that was recently graced with an Airtight Opus-1, I can fully appreciate that digital has a ways to go. And when I say this, I’m not comparing digital to vinyl sound. My analog system, with a good record, does sound more life-like, organic and musical than my MSB Select / Aurender N30SA combo. I hate it, but it does…no if, ands, or buts. Saying that, I still listen to digital 90% of the time because it’s easier, and as someone just mentioned, it’s the only way to access and consume new digital music which continues to sound more organic and life-like as digital recording equipment and mastering improve.

I’m hopeful that MSB, dCS, TotalDac, etc are keenly aware of your posts and considering how they can advance the art in their own flagship DACs, because as we know, while Wadax may reign supreme for now, this is anything but a mature industry and I’m sure the other big names in digital will not be sitting on their hands for long especially if Wadax begins denting their market share. While I can’t speak for the user upgradability of anything but the MSB Select, if and when MSB does feel an upgrade is warranted to stay competitive, I’m hopeful that it can be as straightforward as swapping one module for another. This would be much more tolerable and economical than swapping one platform out for another as you have done (ignoring the actual street price folks are actually paying for the aforementioned flagship gear).

Again, congratulations, and happy listening!

Blake

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Has anyone used/tried the Wadax dac as a preamp directly into an amplifier?
Also is there a remote?

no remote. be nice for phase. it's the server where i wish there was a remote for fine tuning the output data stream. now it somewhat requires two people. Wadax might do a remote at some point.

the Wadax has no preamp, volume control, or plans to integrate one to my knowledge. below it does provide the end user with easily adjustable outputs. so you can tune the best sounding one.

 

[Kingsrule]

Thanks Mike..

 

[microstrip]

the Wadax is not the first $150k dac. the 7 box CH Precision Mono Dac i think listed for $160k. and not better than the around $90k MSB.

but when you add the Wadax Server now you are over $200k retail. that is new ground. and not real world.

IMHO any DAC over 100k is not real world, the MSB Sellect II also goes over my threshold. In the non real world the Wadax is just a little more expensive ...

 

[Mike Lavigne]

IMHO any DAC over 100k is not real world, the MSB Sellect II also goes over my threshold. In the non real world the Wadax is just a little more expensive ...

the MSB Select II is under $90k, dCS Vivaldi Stack territory. without needing so many cables and power cords.

you can add a second power supply at +$20k = under $110, but it's not essential to get the goodness of the Select II. the $90k includes a great preamp and 33 Femto clock. and 10 year warranty and upgrade policy.

the MSB Pro USB (under $2k) being the only needed add on (and might now be one of the standard config choices).

i view it as the ideal centerpiece of a great system.

 

[Tango]

Is that your bedroom system Tang ?

Oh no. This is a system of a friend from my Thai audio chat group. I have been enjoying his nice sounding Wadax through his videos.

 

[Stereophonic]

the MSB Select II is under $90k, dCS Vivaldi Stack territory. without needing so many cables and power cords.

you can add a second power supply at +$20k = under $110, but it's not essential to get the goodness of the Select II. the $90k includes a great preamp and 33 Femto clock. and 10 year warranty and upgrade policy.

the MSB Pro USB (under $2k) being the only needed add on (and might now be one of the standard config choices).

i view it as the ideal centerpiece of a great system.

You are looking for too much combinations.
Answer is very simple.
Wadax Ref. has been developed from here…