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The Wadia 850 was auditioned in a system featuring primarily Thiel CS6 loudspeakers driven by a pair of Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks. I also used B&W Silver Signatures driven by a Pass Labs Aleph 3. Comparison digital sources were a Mark Levinson No.30.5 HDCD D/A processor driven by a Mark Levinson No.31.5 transport via an Illuminati AES/EBU cable, and Balanced Audio Technology VK-D5 and Mark Levinson No.39 CD players. Line preamplifier (when used) was a Mark Levinson No.380S.

The interconnects used were all balanced: Madrigal CZ Gel-1 and…

As supplied, the Wadia 850's maximum output level was 4.33V RMS, this measured at both the balanced and unbalanced jacks. Its output impedance from the balanced outputs was 16 ohms from below 20Hz to 20kHz; from the unbalanced outputs I measured 0.5 ohm! The output signal was in the correct (noninverted) polarity from both sets of outputs. The volume control operated in accurate 0.5dB steps, with superb channel matching. With an indicated setting of "99" equivalent to full level, "87" was -6dB and "75" -12dB. A setting of "5" was equivalent to -47.15dB, with "0"…

The 850 offers good linearity,…

The attack is two-pronged. On one flank, the CD is under assault as being vastly inferior to the "about-to-be-introduced" DVD audio format, with its 96kHz sampling rate and 24-bit word length. On the other, CD is charged with offering absolutely no potential for providing musical satisfaction.

The first line of attack—that we should abandon the CD because…

Steve Earle has taken a mighty rough road. Though Guitar Town gets my vote for Best Country Record of the '80s—the songwriting genius of Hank Williams Sr. with a twang-stomp punk edge, and a fine protest album of redneck rant to boot—…

We've got a smattering of provocative multichannel releases trickling out on SACD and DVD-Audio, and hordes of 5.1 home-theater systems sold, but I don't remember seeing a survey anywhere, ever, that said that the greater music-buying public would purchase more discs if someone would only add surround. Nor do I remember ever seeing information anywhere that the public at…

I flashed back to this talking-head experience when I…

Description: Remote-controlled CD player with volume and balance controls, dual-differential 24-bit DACs, unbalanced and balanced analog outputs, AES/EBU (XLR) and S/PDIF (RCA) digital outputs, and S/PDIF (TosLink and RCA) digital inputs. Maximum output level: 2.225V unbalanced, 4.45V balanced. Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz, +0dB/-0.3dB. Channel separation: >110dB. Dynamic range: 96dB (10Hz-30kHz). Signal/noise: 105dB (10Hz-30kHz). THD: 0.002% at 1kHz, 0dBFS (10Hz-30kHz). Intermodulation: <0.005%. Linearity error: <2dB to below -90dBFS; <2dB to below…

Digital sources: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport & No.30.6 D/A processor; dCS 972 upsampler; Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD player; Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player; Classé CDP-10 CD player.
Preamplification: Mark Levinson No.380S.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H and Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks (the latter using dual power supplies)
Loudspeakers: PSB Platinum T8 and Revel Ultima Studio.
Cables: Datalinks: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest SVD-4 S/PDIF. Interconnect: Madrigal CZ Gel-1 (No.390S and Classé, balanced), Ayre…

I measured sample 1671 of the No.390S, and repeated some of those tests with sample 1563. The Levinson's maximum output level was 2.18V from the unbalanced RCA jacks, this doubling to 4.36V from the balanced XLRs, as expected. The player preserved absolute polarity from both sets of outputs, the XLRs being wired with pin 2 hot. Error correction was among the best I have encountered, the Levinson coping with gaps in the CD data spiral of up to 1.75mm in length without audible glitches. The output impedance was very low, at 24 ohms unbalanced, 27 ohms balanced,…