Wadax Reference Dac and Server arrive

[howiebrou]

A detail about my experience with Revopods shared by Arthur from Arya Audio Labs.
“You are right in that there is a slight difference in the path the energy takes when screwed in all the way. The difference is that the inner moving part is in direct contact with the top part of the RevOpod when fully screwed in hence more direct coupling while when you screw it out a little the path takes a ‘detour’ through the side of the RevOpod which indeed could have an impact”
So, i don’t recommend to install Revs fully screwed in. Just a little screw out is enough to let Revs works as it are designed…
Silicon top ring isn’t recommended too.
As always, listening is best option to be sure this experience recommendation is better.
Hope this helps….

I don't even screw my revopods in. I just place them under my gear. I wonder if that's incorrect?...

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I don't even screw my revopods in. I just place them under my gear. I wonder if that's incorrect?...

whichever sounds best is correct.

in theory the chassis might be optimized to be best supported in those screw thread spots, so there could be a benefit for a more sure connection from the thread shaft connecting/grounding the Revopod to the chassis. my guess is that a very heavy dense piece of gear like the Wadax Ref dac or server would benefit in terms of stability.

but you would have to carefully compare to really know.

my plan is to use the screw shaft to locate and secure the RevOpods in place, but to follow the lead of the reviewer feedback by not using the silicone top ring spacer to snug them. then tune them by feel for equal pressure. if they are not screwed into the chassis you can't adjust them as well. and the Wadax Ref chassis use 8 RevOpods, so having them be equally adjusted without them being screwed in would be a matter of luck. if you are using only 3 RevOpods then that makes more sense for not screwing it in as the weight should be properly distributed. but 4 or more is a problem.

and maybe the RevOpods are more effective with the center screw shaft taking the weight, than the chassis sitting on the broad top of the RevOpod.

and you have to reach in there to adjust them; if they are not connected you could topple it over.

 

[Sunny]

Hello Sunny,

So you consider the Wadax better than any vinyl playback system you have ever heard?

So you consider the Wadax better than any tape playback system you have ever heard?

Hi Ron. Very interesting concept. Music is about several levels of enjoyment, personal beliefs, preferences and so on. The Wadax server ths several settings that allow one to calibrate it correctly. Several digital issues that take place in streaming vanish. Your point about what format is better completely depends on your listening habits. I just visited one of my customers home and re-set a Brinkmann Spyder turntable with an Atlas Lambda SL cartridge. The results were magical. In the 1.5 hours of spinning vinyl we ate lunch, discussed music and had the best time laughing and enjoying each others company centered towards music. Never was Lyra, Brinkmann or CH Precision/Stenheim mentioned but the satisfaction of tone and texture was the focus. Life is short. Every single time we get to spend 2-3 hours doing what we love we win. Digital is great, Vinyl is great, I even enjoy customers homes who have EMM Labs MA3 Dac but have a great musical sensibility. Too much to learn and absorb why spend time arguing about formats...

 

[spiritofmusic]

whichever sounds best is correct.

in theory the chassis might be optimized to be best supported in those screw thread spots, so there could be a benefit for a more sure connection from the thread shaft connecting/grounding the Revopod to the chassis. my guess is that a very heavy dense piece of gear like the Wadax Ref dac or server would benefit in terms of stability.

but you would have to carefully compare to really know.

my plan is to use the screw shaft to locate and secure the RevOpods in place, but to follow the lead of the reviewer feedback by not using the silicone top ring spacer to snug them. then tune them by feel for equal pressure. if they are not screwed into the chassis you can't adjust them as well. and the Wadax Ref chassis use 8 RevOpods, so having them be equally adjusted without them being screwed in would be a matter of luck. if you are using only 3 RevOpods then that makes more sense for not screwing it in as the weight should be properly distributed. but 4 or more is a problem.

and maybe the RevOpods are more effective with the center screw shaft taking the weight, than the chassis sitting on the broad top of the RevOpod.

and you have to reach in there to adjust them; if they are not connected you could topple it over.

Mike, can I ask you to be ultra careful about one thing. As far as I could tell, there is no sense when RevOpods fully unscrew, meaning the two parts can detach suddenly, and the tiny ball bearing within easily spill out. And so easy to lose, trust me!
Make ABSOLUTELY sure you know where you are on the adjusting process to prevent accidental opening and inadvertent losing of this tiny component.

 

[Elliot G.]

whichever sounds best is correct.

in theory the chassis might be optimized to be best supported in those screw thread spots, so there could be a benefit for a more sure connection from the thread shaft connecting/grounding the Revopod to the chassis. my guess is that a very heavy dense piece of gear like the Wadax Ref dac or server would benefit in terms of stability.

but you would have to carefully compare to really know.

my plan is to use the screw shaft to locate and secure the RevOpods in place, but to follow the lead of the reviewer feedback by not using the silicone top ring spacer to snug them. then tune them by feel for equal pressure. if they are not screwed into the chassis you can't adjust them as well. and the Wadax Ref chassis use 8 RevOpods, so having them be equally adjusted without them being screwed in would be a matter of luck. if you are using only 3 RevOpods then that makes more sense for not screwing it in as the weight should be properly distributed. but 4 or more is a problem.

and maybe the RevOpods are more effective with the center screw shaft taking the weight, than the chassis sitting on the broad top of the RevOpod.

and you have to reach in there to adjust them; if they are not connected you could topple it over.

I think following Roy Gregory's advise is probably the way to start since I am sure he got input from the designer. I plan to follow that as well.

 

[Stereophonic]

Maybe i haven’t explained well myself…
These are my notes…
“I put them complete rotated down to the maximum. Now i have rotate them five steps up.
Now sounds better. Like before there was any copling between parts that doesn’t allow to full decopling.
Like the Delrin and the fixed ring where touching at maximum down rotate...
I know you said even fully rotated down it does the same improvement, but that it is what i’m listening and it is amazing.”
So main screw fully fixed but with a little rotation to get few height to decopling it fully.
Sorry for bad picture…

 

[Stereophonic]

I don't even screw my revopods in. I just place them under my gear. I wonder if that's incorrect?...

Hi Howie.
Do you understand it now? Revs well screwed in your gear with only five “clicks” of rotation to get them fully decopled..

 

[howiebrou]

Hi Howie.
Do you understand it now? Revs well screwed in your gear with only five “clicks” of rotation to get them fully decopled..

Yes, I understand. Thanks. I might try screwing them into the equipment but then I need 4 instead of 3...

 

[Mike Lavigne]

holy mother of god! the decay now goes on forever (if it's on the recording).

took me about 3 hours to install and adjust the 24 RevOpods (6 sets) under the dac, 2 power supplies and server. had to remove my dart pre so i could remove the 'Tana' Daiza under it to allow for the height for the server to stay in it's spot so i can see the cover art. followed 'Stereophonic's' coaching (thanks! ) and bottomed each pod, installed them on the chassis, then reversed 5 clicks. once in place i adjusted each footer by feel to have equal pressure. had to play around some as each footer is relational to all the others, so you are going around adjusting them all little by little until all of them are as equal feeling of pressure as possible. i will give it a week then go back and check and adjust them again. not really that hard other than in behind the middle of my rack it's a bit of a twister game for my 'old' body. handled the weight ok with no mishaps. took my time.

i was able to combine the RevOpods with the Dazia on the dac and power supplies. but have not A/B'd it so cannot speak to the significance. not sure i will bother with that (hearing zero compromises in any case, likely helping).

RevOpods are the real deal! at least in my system under the Wadax Ref dac and server. immediate sense of more holographic and microdynamic presentation. noticeably greater emotive and expressive content, greater harmonic complexity and textures. greater coherence and drive, more feeling of ensemble playing and flow. lots of small differences musically helpful.

just starting to explore more music and discover the nuggets of ROI. looking for some bass heavy tracks.

and we know what 'black chrome' looks like! perfect match for my chassis color scheme.

 

[nickif]

holy mother of god! the decay now goes on forever (if it's on the recording).

…

just starting to explore more music and discover the nuggets of ROI. looking for some bass heavy tracks.

and we know what 'black chrome' looks like! perfect match for my chassis color scheme.

Congrats Mike!

Just a reminder Revopods can be used under anything except TT, I have them under my pre, phono, subs and speakers

 

[howiebrou]

holy mother of god! the decay now goes on forever (if it's on the recording).

took me about 3 hours to install and adjust the 24 RevOpods (6 sets) under the dac, 2 power supplies and server. had to remove my dart pre so i could remove the 'Tana' Daiza under it to allow for the height for the server to stay in it's spot so i can see the cover art. followed 'Stereophonic's' coaching (thanks! ) and bottomed each pod, installed them on the chassis, then reversed 5 clicks. once in place i adjusted each footer by feel to have equal pressure. had to play around some as each footer is relational to all the others, so you are going around adjusting them all little by little until all of them are as equal feeling of pressure as possible. i will give it a week then go back and check and adjust them again. not really that hard other than in behind the middle of my rack it's a bit of a twister game for my 'old' body. handled the weight ok with no mishaps. took my time.

i was able to combine the RevOpods with the Dazia on the dac and power supplies. but have not A/B'd it so cannot speak to the significance. not sure i will bother with that (hearing zero compromises in any case, likely helping).

RevOpods are the real deal! at least in my system under the Wadax Ref dac and server. immediate sense of more holographic and microdynamic presentation. noticeably greater emotive and expressive content, greater harmonic complexity and textures. greater coherence and drive, more feeling of ensemble playing and flow. lots of small differences musically helpful.

just starting to explore more music and discover the nuggets of ROI. looking for some bass heavy tracks.

and we know what 'black chrome' looks like! perfect match for my chassis color scheme.

View attachment 89106View attachment 89107View attachment 89108View attachment 89109View attachment 89110

Nice one. I asked Arthur a few years ago about placing them upside down. Here is his answer: "
Hello Howie,

Thank you for your message. If your equipment has threaded holes then we recommend screwing the RevOpods in using the provided thread adapters. If that’s not the case then we recommend to use RevOpods “upside down” as you mentioned in your email. This just makes it easier to place your component on top of the RevOpods without them tipping over (due to their high centre of mass). The damping efficiency is not affected by this strategy. Consequently there is no disadvantage in terms of damping efficiency when using the RevOpods this way. We have tested that in the lab and the efficiency is unchanged whether using them upside up or upside down. As for the number of feet this is mostly dictated by the equipment you are using it with. If it has four threaded inserts then the obvious choice is to use four and accordingly for three. If your equipment doesn’t have threaded holes you can use three as long as you don’t exceed the maximum weight which is 30kg per foot (i.e. 90kg for a set of 3 or 120kg for a set of four) and if it doesn’t compromise the stability (for example if it’s a tall and heavy speaker four feet are usually preferred). Otherwise the RevOpods are quite straightforward to use. "

 

[Tango]

holy mother of god! the decay now goes on forever (if it's on the recording).

This is the funniest expression I read from you Mike. I just laughed out loud reading. Not anything in negative way pls dont take it wrong. It is just funny to hear this from you given you went through all the tweak more than others on forum. They must really make differences. Hope you like what you hear.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Congrats Mike!

Just a reminder Revopods can be used under anything except TT, I have them under my pre, phono, subs and speakers

Hi Nick,

Why not used under a TT?

Best.

 

[jonyung]

holy mother of god! the decay now goes on forever (if it's on the recording).

took me about 3 hours to install and adjust the 24 RevOpods (6 sets) under the dac, 2 power supplies and server. had to remove my dart pre so i could remove the 'Tana' Daiza under it to allow for the height for the server to stay in it's spot so i can see the cover art. followed 'Stereophonic's' coaching (thanks! ) and bottomed each pod, installed them on the chassis, then reversed 5 clicks. once in place i adjusted each footer by feel to have equal pressure. had to play around some as each footer is relational to all the others, so you are going around adjusting them all little by little until all of them are as equal feeling of pressure as possible. i will give it a week then go back and check and adjust them again. not really that hard other than in behind the middle of my rack it's a bit of a twister game for my 'old' body. handled the weight ok with no mishaps. took my time.

i was able to combine the RevOpods with the Dazia on the dac and power supplies. but have not A/B'd it so cannot speak to the significance. not sure i will bother with that (hearing zero compromises in any case, likely helping).

RevOpods are the real deal! at least in my system under the Wadax Ref dac and server. immediate sense of more holographic and microdynamic presentation. noticeably greater emotive and expressive content, greater harmonic complexity and textures. greater coherence and drive, more feeling of ensemble playing and flow. lots of small differences musically helpful.

just starting to explore more music and discover the nuggets of ROI. looking for some bass heavy tracks.

and we know what 'black chrome' looks like! perfect match for my chassis color scheme.

View attachment 89106View attachment 89107View attachment 89108View attachment 89109View attachment 89110

Good on you Mike!

I have been using Centerstage2 0.8 all along ( that's what I have when I acquired the Ref Dac). It gives you all the Immersion effect as we all know, but balancing 8 centerstage is quite a pain initially. It must be much easier with the Revopods given the design differences.

My only hesitation is from users who sold their Revopods, a number of them dislike the "tonal balance" after using Revopods. I guess you gave me the right answer to try them later.

Enjoy

 

[Mike Lavigne]

This is the funniest expression I read from you Mike. I just laughed out loud reading. Not anything in negative way pls dont take it wrong. It is just funny to hear this from you given you went through all the tweak more than others on forum. They must really make differences. Hope you like what you hear.

'Holy Mother of God' was what i said out loud to myself with the first 10 seconds of the first cut i heard, which was the Mr. Chai 'John Adams' 'Bohemian Rhapsody' i had played this 10 times in my room over the previous 36 hours, plus another 10 times the various yourtube versions. so it was absolutely imprinted into my aural memory. it was like the recording space (not Mr. Adams) had suddenly tripled in size and much more emotion in his voice. i thought i already knew the cut well and thought my system had previously really nailed it.

i was startled. surprised.

so it was the first thing i wrote as i started to post, even before i took any pictures....immediately as i had just heard it. later i thought about whether it was too over the top and considered deleting it but then figured it was how i felt. and i had not found any reason to think it was an overreaction.

but i think your reaction is fair in the larger context too. "there goes Mike...again". i expected some flack for it. and i'm not taking your comments as anything negative. they are fair and logical. i'm sure you speak for many.

in balance i think truth is that the particular recording, my recency with it, combined with the Wadax and my particular system, caused a particular legit reaction. which is why i qualified my remarks as pertaining only to my system. will they make sense a month or 6 months from now? time will tell.

 

[nickif]

Hi Nick,

Why not used under a TT?

Best.

Hi Bill,

It’s just I’ve never seen them underneath TTs, and they don’t fit into my tables so I haven’t got a chance to try out myself.

Something square shaped like a 1200s or firebird may be worth trying.

Michael

 

[Ultrafast69]

Mike, great to read your excitement, guess I have to fuel up again!

 

[spiritofmusic]

Mike, good stuff on the positive RevOpods feedback. Fascinating that people have ditched them because of tonal issues, the main reason I chose them over IsoAcoustics Gaias under my Zus was because I felt the latter skewed the tonal balance too much into one-note bass.
My phrase at the time was that the RevOpods made Jack Bruce, Chris Squire and Jaco Pastorius sound like themselves, the Gaias made them sound like the same anonymous studio session bassist.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Hi Bill,

It’s just I’ve never seen them underneath TTs, and they don’t fit into my tables so I haven’t got a chance to try out myself.

Something square shaped like a 1200s or firebird may be worth trying.

Michael

I have a high mass TT with 3 feet using M6 threads so thought it might be worth trying.

 

[bonzo75]

Mike, good stuff on the positive RevOpods feedback. Fascinating that people have ditched them because of tonal issues, the main reason I chose them over IsoAcoustics Gaias under my Zus was because I felt the latter skewed the tonal balance too much into one-note bass.
My phrase at the time was that the RevOpods made Jack Bruce, Chris Squire and Jaco Pastorius sound like themselves, the Gaias made them sound like the same anonymous studio session bassist.

What systems ditched them over tonal issues?