Wadax Reference Dac and Server arrive

[bryans]

Maybe @Elliot G. know who owned this system.

Actually @HiFim3 might be the dealer to ask. He is the local Wadax/RevOPods dealer to this person.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

that Audiogon thing is gone, never to return.

 

[Alrainbow]

It makes no sense too me such an exp combo and you put it up for sale there. Must be a lot more to that issue.
Ii do think he had an axe to grind with his is dealer . But I'm guessing

 

[divertiti]

It makes no sense too me such an exp combo and you put it up for sale there. Must be a lot more to that issue.
Ii do think he had an axe to grind with his is dealer . But I'm guessing

I don't quite understand this sentiment, why would it be an "issue" where someone chooses to sell their own property? As long as he actually owns the product, what is wrong with selling on Audiogon?

 

[audioarcher]

I don't quite understand this sentiment, why would it be an "issue" where someone chooses to sell their own property? As long as he actually owns the product, what is wrong with selling on Audiogon?

I agree. Audiogon ads get a lot of views. It is a good place to get exposure for your gear.

 

[Alrainbow]

I don't quite understand this sentiment, why would it be an "issue" where someone chooses to sell their own property? As long as he actually owns the product, what is wrong with selling on Audiogon?

It's a great place , but my point was answered the add was removed .

 

[divertiti]

It's a great place , but my point was answered the add was removed .

Can you help me understand what your point was? Why was where he chose to sell his gear a topic of discussion, why was he reported and why was the ad being removed an expected outcome?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Can you help me understand what your point was? Why was where he chose to sell his gear a topic of discussion, why was he reported and why was the ad being removed an expected outcome?

can you guys start your own thread about this subject? then hash the finer points of it out, to your heart's content.

of course, it's your call, not up to me, but i would personally appreciate it. don't need more of this thrashing of this distraction on my thread.

 

[divertiti]

can you guys start your own thread about this subject? then hash the finer points of it out, to your heart's content.

of course, it's your call, not up to me, but i would personally appreciate it. don't need more of this thrashing of this distraction on my thread.

Interesting...no problem Mike, out of respect for you, happy to take this discussion off your thread.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

thanks to the mods for allowing me to delete this post from a thread i started separately, which allowed me to post it here where it's more relevant to my topic, optimizing the Wadax dac.

being all in with the Wadax dac, i wanted to push it with interconnects, and i had heard feedback that the Stage III top of line Gorgon was even preferred to the very spendy Tara Labs model (Grandmaster Evolution w/dual HFX grounding stations) i had owned 5-6 years ago. and yet had a list price less than a third of the Tara. still spendy, but real world. the Gorgon has the same vacuum dielectric of the Tara, it's a heavy beast. but how does it sound?

Brian Ackerman from Aaudio Imports sent me an already run-in 2 meter demo pair to try these last 3 weeks; the first couple of days it went through some ups and downs, got a bit nasty and snarly for a day or so; but then really smoothed out and opened up. these have that same super low noise floor of the Tara Labs, and are extremely dynamic and energetic. to be fair i have no real reference on hand to throw at it; i had a mid level Tara Labs set to compare, plus a set of prototype Evolution Acoustics XLR's which had been the best sounding one's i had on hand. but my reference was my recollection of how those Tara's had sounded, and these Stage III Gorgon's measure up completely to that memory. and are a huge night and day jump up over the others here.

and these I.C.'s have jumped up the Wadax even higher. very happy with the synergy with my system. i am experimenting with how to suspend the heavy dense Gorgon's where they plug into my dart pre sitting on my active Tana shelf to not dampen the active unit. using a clamp on the shelf above and zip ties to good effect.

today i've ordered my own set of 1.5 meter XLR Gorgon's i should have in a few weeks. later i will also treat the Gorgon's where they are connected to my Wadax to allow the RevOpods to properly 'float'.

Aaudio Imports: Product

next is the last item on my 'all-in-digital' efforts checklist----optimal network switch. i have something incoming to try.....

 

[Steve Vu]

being all in with the Wadax dac, i wanted to push it with interconnects, and i had heard feedback that the Stage III top of line Gorgon was even preferred to the very spendy Tara Labs model i had owned. and yet had a list price less than a third of the Tara. still spendy, but real world. the Gorgon has the same vacuum dielectric of the Tara, it's a heavy beast. but how does it sound?

Brian Ackerman from Aaudio Imports sent me a run-in 2 meter demo pair to try these last 3 weeks; the first couple of days it went through some ups and downs, got a bit nasty and snarly for a day or so; but then really smoothed out and opened up. these have that same super low noise floor of the Tara Labs, and are extremely dynamic and energetic. to be fair i have no real reference on hand to throw at it; i had a mid level Tara Labs set to compare, plus a set of prototype Evolution Acoustics XLR's which had been the best sounding one's i had on hand. but my reference was my recollection of how those Tara's had sounded, and these Stage III Gorgon's measure up completely to that memory. and are a huge night and day jump up over the others here.

and these I.C.'s have jumped up the Wadax even higher. very happy with the synergy with my system. i am experimenting with how to suspend the heavy dense Gorgon's where they plug into my dart pre sitting on my active Tana shelf to not dampen the active unit. using a clamp on the shelf above and zip ties to good effect.

today i've ordered my own set of 1.5 meter XLR Gorgon's i should have in a few weeks. later i will also treat the Gorgon's where they are connected to my Wadax to allow the RevOpods to properly 'float'.

Aaudio Imports: Product

next is the last item on my 'all-in-digital' efforts checklist----optimal network switch. i have something incoming to try.....

I hope to get your idea about the network switch soon. I used them but still search the better one.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I hope to get your idea about the network switch soon. I used them but still search the better one.

the new Nordost QNET switch is inbound to me to try. we will see how it does. i have high expectations. optimizing my network is now my remaining area to solve. this is the first step toward that effort.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Interesting...no problem Mike, out of respect for you, happy to take this discussion off your thread.

many thanks for this.

cheers,

Mike

 

[Kingrex]

the new Nordost QNET switch is inbound to me to try. we will see how it does. i have high expectations. optimizing my network is now my remaining area to solve. this is the first step toward that effort.

View attachment 89321

Is your network equipment feed from the Equitech?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Is your network equipment feed from the Equitech?

no. the Equi=tech panel is A/C grid only.

my home LAN comes in as broadband fiber from comcast into my main house, then it's copper into the barn from my modem to a switch upstairs above my room (one of my NAS's is upstairs), then either copper or fiber (i have both in a conduit) to my server, right now copper. my plan is to then add the (Nordost) switch there near my Wadax, and a short Sablon Ethernet cable i have to my Wadax. adding the appropriate LPS to the Nordost (Nordost does offer a spendy one i will try).

if i love it, i will just go with it. got to hear it first. if i get any real lift from where things are right now it will be epic.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Is your network equipment feed from the Equitech?

Did I misunderstand your question?

are you referring to where the network gear is powered?

right now it’s all powered by the ‘dirty’ standard wall panel power throughout the house and barn. However my final switch will have a choice whether dirty or Equi=tech.

 

[ctydwn]

Hi Mike, I have really enjoyed this thread and the time you have taken to describe the transition and reasoning behind your switch to the Wadax (dac and server).

As I’m sure you have seen, Emile/Taiko is on the verge of eliminating any benefit from 3rd party switches and recommends essentially direct from modem to server via basic copper (although their own switch might be forthcoming). Does Wadax have a similar path on the network side of things for simplification or an universal recommendation to ensure optimum performance? Network optimization such a hornets nest depending on so many factors.

I have used the M12 Gold switch to great effect as well as the Nordost Qsource LPS among a variety of other rabbit holes network tweaks lol. The benefit of the M12 has gone from absolutely amazing to virtually eliminated with the two major Extreme software updates. I will be very curious to hear the benefits of the Nordost switch in your system and will try to extrapolate.

Thanks again to all the useful information on this particular thread and enjoy the music there, as always, everyone.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike, I have really enjoyed this thread and the time you have taken to describe the transition and reasoning behind your switch to the Wadax (dac and server).

thank you.

As I’m sure you have seen, Emile/Taiko is on the verge of eliminating any benefit from 3rd party switches and recommends essentially direct from modem to server via basic copper (although their own switch might be forthcoming). Does Wadax have a similar path on the network side of things for simplification or an universal recommendation to ensure optimum performance? Network optimization such a hornets nest depending on so many factors.

i've asked Javier from Wadax those same questions. he is agnostic about network enhancements, as the feedback he gets is all over the board. he did not mention any Wadax proprietary network specific efforts underway, but not sure he would have shared it if there were.

the pure simple copper i'm using now seems entirely fine.

so i have no 'higher truth' from Wadax i can share.

I have used the M12 Gold switch to great effect as well as the Nordost Qsource LPS among a variety of other rabbit holes network tweaks lol. The benefit of the M12 has gone from absolutely amazing to virtually eliminated with the two major Extreme software updates. I will be very curious to hear the benefits of the Nordost switch in your system and will try to extrapolate.

Thanks again to all the useful information on this particular thread and enjoy the music there, as always, everyone.

your M12 Gold experience is exactly what i want to try and avoid. i don't need more 'dead' devices for my tweak cabinet. they don't help me there. we will see what the Nordost QNET brings.

the music listening with the Wadax is a wonder. can't stop listening. i feel very lucky.

 

[Steve Vu]

Hi Mike, I have really enjoyed this thread and the time you have taken to describe the transition and reasoning behind your switch to the Wadax (dac and server).

As I’m sure you have seen, Emile/Taiko is on the verge of eliminating any benefit from 3rd party switches and recommends essentially direct from modem to server via basic copper (although their own switch might be forthcoming). Does Wadax have a similar path on the network side of things for simplification or an universal recommendation to ensure optimum performance? Network optimization such a hornets nest depending on so many factors.

I have used the M12 Gold switch to great effect as well as the Nordost Qsource LPS among a variety of other rabbit holes network tweaks lol. The benefit of the M12 has gone from absolutely amazing to virtually eliminated with the two major Extreme software updates. I will be very curious to hear the benefits of the Nordost switch in your system and will try to extrapolate.

Thanks again to all the useful information on this particular thread and enjoy the music there, as always, everyone.

You should not compare Taiko with Wadax. Wadax is clearly in a different class from Taiko and all the other music servers. It is also the reason for the high price of Wadax.

I really do not know what Emile will say when he releases his Router or Switch in the future. Many companies declared their products were immune to noise, interference or vibration... but we always can improve their quality by other accessories clearly. Besides that, those companies also always release new products to replace old products in the upgrade cycle and they continue giving the another declaration. All of companies are like that.

 

[kswanson27]

You should not compare Taiko with Wadax. Wadax is clearly in a different class from Taiko and all the other music servers. It is also the reason for the high price of Wadax.

I really do not know what Emile will say when he release his Router or Switch in the future. Many companies declared their products were immune to noise, interference or vibration... but we always can improve their quality by other accessories clearly. Besides that, that companies also always release new products to replace old products in the upgrade cycle and they continue giving the another declaration. All of companies are like that.

I have to disagree with just about everything you said in this post Steve.