Wadax Reference Dac and Server arrive

[PeterA]

If someone wants coffee, why will they want pure spring water? This does happen though, when people set out to get a system, on the way they forget what they were here for

Everyone seems to have an opinion about different flavors. The important thing in this case is what Mike thinks, no?

 

[howiebrou]

Everyone seems to have an opinion about different flavors. The important thing in this case is what Mike thinks, no?

NO. It's what we all want for Mike that is important!

 

[Elliot G.]

I disagree…
Server has USB output for a reason and most important, 3 dials that haven’t been discussed here.
Forgiving Akasa connection, Wadax Ref. Server is recommended to every Dac available…
I don’t know any Server that can adjust voltaje, gain and speed as Ref. does.
This key is unique and you can dial your Server to every Dac needs…

I think my thoughts were taken out of context. I never said that one can't use either the Wadax DAC or Server with other equipment. I did say clearly that they are designed to be used together and they are. I also believe that together they achieve a level which individually that can't. Mike did this comparison and made his remarks and findings public here.

 

[rando]

I'd kindly appreciate if the member(s) removing layers from cappuccino would attempt to restate key thoughts. Initially it appeared to be contemplating meaning beyond the literal interpretation it received. Imperfect understanding of this analogy did at least manage to create the image of digital being a suspension created at moment of consumption.

Even today impeccably balanced cappuccino is rare as clear unflavored water from the ground directly beneath. Maybe we are weaning ourselves back onto milk. As opposed to unnaturally preserving something created as a stand in for sustenance?

 

[Tango]

I do not think it is so much about what flavor the rest of us think the Wadax sounds like but more about why Mike chose this particular device. There seems to be more certainty about the digital source and an interest in variety with the vinyl sources.

Actually I am not in "the rest of us" to think it is about why Mike chose Wadax. He chose because he heard some better aspects of sound from Wadax that his previous dac did not offer in the same level for sure. I was just giving my impression of Wadax sound that I have been hearing comparing to other dacs that there are so many brands available in my Thai audio group and also comparing to tape and vinyl that I am familiar with. So for me it is really about Wadax sound to me not Wadax sound to Mike. Hence that analogy.

 

[Kingsrule]

I think my thoughts were taken out of context. I never said that one can't use either the Wadax DAC or Server with other equipment. I did say clearly that they are designed to be used together and they are. I also believe that together they achieve a level which individually that can't. Mike did this comparison and made his remarks and findings public here.

Except I don't think Mike's Extreme had the latest updates when he made his comparison...

If I'm correct, the updated Extreme takes it to a whole new and better level so the comparison is worthless....

 

[microstrip]

i almost forgot......ah yes, those 3 dials......

i had a business trip last week to Las Vegas, this next week gone to another one in Napa Valley. now that my optimizations are just about behind me, once i return those 3 dials will get my attention. it's time.

after that......mid April my vinyl upgrades will start rolling in......

Mike,

I think that some people here are analytically dissecting your posts, never forgetting that this thread is mainly a great and informative narrative about your enjoyment on your personnel travel on the stereo sound road.

(...) at the end of the day, if you directly compare digital to vinyl/analog sourced, the better analog sourced has more meat on the bones and a higher upside of nuance and immersion, and it's not a subtle difference.

but unless i directly compare it, i'm not feeling like i'm missing anything. my left brain knows the vinyl is better and i should maybe try it, my right brain does not care as nothing is telling my senses that i'm missing anything. of course; not every recording is equally real sounding. and as i go down the worm hole of optimization it's more and more this way by degrees. (...)

If you prefer more meat on the bones and a higher upside of nuance, your choice seems clear. No processing in digital or tweaks will be able to create the "meatier" sound of analog. Tweaks can help emulating it it, but they are different instrumental reigns. Every time yo approach, next step in analog will manage to run away again. Immersion is a very subjective aspect, hard to comment on it. BTW, do you also find the sound of Sheffield direct cuts "meatier"?

I must add that IMHO we suffer from the same sin most audiophiles do - we appreciate challenges. At some point, this hobby also becomes a challenge - we always want to improve the sound of our systems. And the damn designers and manufacturers know how to fuel our passion!

 

[microstrip]

I have never quite understood why so many of us fear adding flavour. If it sounds great, I have no issue. Otherwise we would all be eating that impossible meat crap...

Question of pride and also of tactics. If we accept adding flavour to create preference all preferences have equal value and should have an equal opportunity. And, in general, preference must be analyzed statistically - the winner is the preference that causes enjoyment in more people. Forget about mine is better than yours - it becomes : the group with whom I share the same preference has more members than your group!

 

[PeterA]

Actually I am not in "the rest of us" to think it is about why Mike chose Wadax. He chose because he heard some better aspects of sound from Wadax that his previous dac did not offer in the same level for sure. I was just giving my impression of Wadax sound that I have been hearing comparing to other dacs that there are so many brands available in my Thai audio group and also comparing to tape and vinyl that I am familiar with. So for me it is really about Wadax sound to me not Wadax sound to Mike. Hence that analogy.

Good point Tang. I have not heard the Wadax yet, but one of my friends heard it and gave me his impressions. I keep mixing up in my mind what this thread is about and how we should frame our posts. Is the thread about Mike's experience with the DAC/server in his system context, or is it about the Wadax products in general and what people think about them in the contexts they heard them in? I think you are framing your posts referencing the latter, while I am referencing the former.

 

[Kingsrule]

Mikes thoughts here and Wadax in general in the Wadax forum

 

[Elliot G.]

Except I don't think Mike's Extreme had the latest updates when he made his comparison...

If I'm correct, the updated Extreme takes it to a whole new and better level so the comparison is worthless....

It wasn't worthless at the time he did it. The cutting edge of Audio is always fluid and at some point we can only make a decision in the present. I don't understand the negativity and no one ever said that the MSB or the Taiko was anything but wonderful gear. The fact that someone chose the Wadax and liked it better in their systems doesn't denigrate the others. I really find this line of the thread really peculiar and somewhat disingenuous. If the forum is What's best does what is not best this week make it bad?
Sorry don't get it.

 

[microstrip]

Mikes thoughts here and Wadax in general in the Wadax forum

IMHO considering that other people with experience in the Wadax shared their thought in this thread I think it become the current the facto Wadax Reference thread.

 

[Alrainbow]

makers need to make money over all , but some do make great , improved sound to earn it . some makers just claim stardust added to moon dust makes it unlike all . without filling a page of most all the internal tunning / decoding data that any server and dac must decode,. In part this makes the sound , if we put aside the many various power and connection possible issues . i don,t know what special sauce wadax does overall compared to other dacs , servers at this almost leaving earth orbit class . Price is not the be ALL end sound , so to me there are plenty of utra level devices even with less zeros . having said this mikes amazing observations with levels of fantastic writing skills temps me to want one lol . i truly love the posts that to me truly show the passion level he has . i dont have nor ever had the level he does , but i do wish i leaved near him to hear world class and then go home and make some adjustments. the one topic all run from is this how do we know what,s better as we go there . there are hundreds of posts each depickting there ways , but non consider each of our own pre values effecting each of us .

 

[Steve Vu]

Except I don't think Mike's Extreme had the latest updates when he made his comparison...

If I'm correct, the updated Extreme takes it to a whole new and better level so the comparison is worthless....

I heard the new update of Taiko and it was better the old OS but just a little. It cannot be as day and night based on describing on Taiko users. I think you say that but you also haven't listened yet.

If you have a chance to hear both of them, you will understand that Wadax is clearly in a different class from all the others. Nothing can compare with them currently. It's a brutal truth with other fans.

 

[Kingrex]

I think this thread rubs people all sorts of ways because its a quarter million dollars to get the supposed closest to real and natural out there with digital. Why can't my digital do it for $14K. Its not fair.

I see this thread as comparable to so many vinyl threads. Some people say you can have great vinyl for way less than a Wadax digital setup. But can you. I bet a real vinyl buff would say his $130K TT, $40K arm, $60K phono Pre, $15K cartridge, $10K cables does things your Gerard can not do. Isn't that all this thread is saying here. The Wadax is doing some stuff other DAC/Server combo can't do. Yet only a couple people with the ears to hear it, equipment to process it and experience to know it have access to judge it. The rest of us are moths around the flame.

For me Its interesting to digest. For me, hearing the Wadax at Mikes stopped me from purchasing another DAC. A dealer lost a sale. It was a serious data point for me. It caused me to turn my attention back to vinyl. I see Tape and Vinyl as the only way to get to a level of performance I desire, at a price I can stomach. I'm going to try a Hagerman MC Trumet and an Aidas cartridge.

 

[jbrrp1]

I heard the new update of Taiko and it was better the old OS but just a little. It cannot be as day and night based on describing on Taiko users. I think you say that but you also haven't listened yet.

If you have a chance to hear both of them, you will understand that Wadax is clearly in a different class from all the others. Nothing can compare with them currently. It's a brutal truth with other fans.

In my system the Taiko OS update did, indeed, bring a significant improvement in tonal density, musical information revealed, and realization of the sonic space. It was a whole lot like trying a new component and being very pleased with the improvement. Is it as big a move as going from Taiko/Old OS >> Wadax? I'd like to find out! Kingsrule certainly stated it in rather "undiplomatic" fashion, but the comparison would be interesting at this point.

 

[Steve Vu]

In my system the Taiko OS update did, indeed, bring a significant improvement in tonal density, musical information revealed, and realization of the sonic space. It was a whole lot like trying a new component and being very pleased with the improvement. Is it as big a move as going from Taiko/Old OS >> Wadax? I'd like to find out! Kingsrule certainly stated it in rather "undiplomatic" fashion, but the comparison would be interesting at this point.

If you need to compare, let's compare Taiko Extreme with Aurender N30SA. Many people think Aurender is better than Taiko now.

 

[jbrrp1]

If you need to compare, let's compare Taiko Extreme with Aurender N30SA. Many people think Aurender is better than Taiko now.

??? OK, that might be a good one to add to the list, along with the Wadax, for comparisons.

 

[Phantom-Audio]

I can't wait for a 500K Dacs to appear on the audiophile market.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I am curios to know if Mike thinks of his new digital source as pure spring water, a refreshing drink and transparent to the recording or more like a flavor, a particular taste. He has four turntables with different arms and cartridges, presumably choosing each one for when the mood strikes.

not a coffee connoisseur. no desire to become one. not able to navigate wine or coffee analogies and appropriately respond. the food analogy for me is more organic orange verses non organic. from my perspective, as one who has wholeheartedly pursued ultimate digital performance, invested heavily over decades at it, and spend much of my time listening to it, the Wadax IS that organic orange, NOT the non organic one. it crosses that threshold. and my optimizations over the last month have solidified my view that the Wadax is a breed apart.

yet; the better and especially the best vinyl is a preferable organic orange.......if i'm able to directly compare. but i do get 'satisfied and fulfilled' by the Wadax organic orange. for most digital recordings i get no hint it's not 'right'.

and i don't hear the Wadax as flavored as in 'corrupted'. but the digital recording process is different than analog and not as robust and complete. nothing is going to change that. so my 4 turntables start out with media that has more to offer by degrees, so can go further.

yet; the digital recording process is also more technically accurate, so it does have a cleaner presentation. i prefer complete to cleaner, but i do appreciate the digital perspective.

I do not think it is so much about what flavor the rest of us think the Wadax sounds like but more about why Mike chose this particular device. There seems to be more certainty about the digital source and an interest in variety with the vinyl sources.

i'm happy where i'm at. have i heard all possible digital choices? can anyone? we are not dealing in absolutes here. just my opinions. but i have a high level of confidence i have made good choices FOR ME.