Any one else using the Wadia 170i transport?

Running this with an iPod Classic. Does a pretty darn good job, I must say.
"Sounds" like what I expect any good transport to sound like. All my CD's are in the iPod in Apple Lossless audio, and I am quite satisfied with the results. Its controls at this point are very minimal, but that is not a bad tradeoff for the major league upgrade it provides over the iPod's internal DAC, when used with a good external DAC. (My external DAC is the Integra Research RDC-7 preamp, which although it is a multichannel preamp, its two channel performance, especially with digital sources, hangs with just about anything)

Really enjoying ours...

Have had it for quite some time now and no issues whatsoever. It's a great product to let people drop their iPods into the system and give it a listen.

My daughters friends always freak out when they hear the difference between lossless and MP3's.

I have had mine for about 8 months, It is a dandy little item for casual listening and the quality is suprisingly good.

my system: http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169

Kenscollick said:

I have had mine for about 8 months, It is a dandy little item for casual listening and the quality is suprisingly good.

my system: http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169

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Casual listening.. yeah, I guess the idea of what is critical listening and casual is all relative! Lol! It is my main source at the moment. I would put it combined with my current DAC up against most sources in the under $3000 range, give or take a bit.

Is it SimAudio Andromeda (my favorite CD player) quality, heck no... but it don't cost over $10k either.... :rocker:

Jacking the 170i into the Wadia 781i has thrown more than one visiting audiophile for a loop when uncompressed files were used...

With this sort of thing, the iPod becomes just a storage device - no different to the 50-cent bit of plastic that is the CD.

Yes, the iPod can do more than store - it has a DAC, amplifier, headphones, etc - but when you are bypassing all of that and using it purely as storage then it ends there.

There is no reason to expect anything less than great performance! I agree though - it does look kinda cool seeing the iPod sitting there but hearing good sound.

tonepub said:

Jacking the 170i into the Wadia 781i has thrown more than one visiting audiophile for a loop when uncompressed files were used...

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Just how close is the sound using the 170i and the 781i DAC, to straight CD playback through the 781?

I bought my wife a 170i for her birthday, to use with her iPhone. She doesn't have an external DAC yet, so she's obvioulsy not getting the true benefit of it over some other iPod dock. Finaces permitting, I'll get her a suitable DAC for Xmas. I hear that Wadia are working on a few pieces in a matching form factor (the Series 1 stuff)...

conradjohnsonfan said:

Just how close is the sound using the 170i and the 781i DAC, to straight CD playback through the 781?

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It doesn't have quite as much air, dynamics or weight, but it is surprisingly good. The DAC in the 781 is still pretty amazing.

Last fall i had the pleasure of spending some time with the great folks at Wadia they are working on a couple of D>A converters the Matching 8" + 8" chassis is due out this fall just in time for Christmas.

http://wadia.com/forum/application/comments.php?id=18

I have the 170i and the Wadia 781i. However, I'm using the 170i in the HT system mainly to use for the occasional downloaded iPod video and have yet to try it with the 781i's DAC. Tomorrow it's moving over to the 2 channel system and I'll let you know what I think.

I do use my Logitech Squeezebox with the Wadia 781i and it sounds amazing with Apple Lossless or FLAC formatted music.

One thing I don't like when using the 170i is the lousy user interface. I know there are better ways to control the iPod remotely but I'm up to speed on the options that are available. Perhaps I should upgrade to an iPod touch with WiFi so I can use the PC iPhone or other device as a remote.

What are you using as a remote with the Wadia 170i or other iPod dock?

Craig said:

I have the 170i and the Wadia 781i. However, I'm using the 170i in the HT system mainly to use for the occasional downloaded iPod video and have yet to try it with the 781i's DAC. Tomorrow it's moving over to the 2 channel system and I'll let you know what I think.

I do use my Logitech Squeezebox with the Wadia 781i and it sounds amazing with Apple Lossless or FLAC formatted music.

One thing I don't care for about using the 170i is the lousy user interface. I know there are better ways to control the iPod remotely but I'm up to speed on the options that are available. Perhaps I should upgrade to an iPod touch with WiFi so I can use the PC iPhone or other device as a remote.

What are you using as a remote with the Wadia 170i or other iPod dock?

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I haven't tried anything else but the included remote... I typically set my iPod to shuffle, sit down and enjoy the music, using the remote for the occasional forward to the next track.

I will be very interested to hear your comparision of the 170 with iPod to the Squeezebox.

My 170i is plugged into a Meridian 861 processor. The 861 has some excellent built-in jitter reduction technology that helps elevate the sound coming from the 170i. My CD transport is the Meridian 800, which up until a few years ago was supposed to be state of the art. In a head to head with the 170i, on "normal" quality recordings (as opposed to the Reference Recordings-type stuff), the 170i and 800 simply sound different. The 170i has more bass impact and is a little crisper. The 800 is more liquid sounding.

Overall, the amazing convenience of the 170i has rendered the 800 almost useless. The little Wadia is good enough that I just sit in my chair with that little remote and play, play, play. If I don't feel like listening to a particular song at the moment, I just hit the forward button and wait to hear what that little sucker will feed me next.

An amazing value.

RichTeer said:

I bought my wife a 170i for her birthday, to use with her iPhone. She doesn't have an external DAC yet, so she's obvioulsy not getting the true benefit of it over some other iPod dock. Finaces permitting, I'll get her a suitable DAC for Xmas. I hear that Wadia are working on a few pieces in a matching form factor (the Series 1 stuff)...

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hey Rich, where did you get the 170i? the closest dealer i can find in canada is in edmonton. there was one in Richmond, but i seems to have dried up - at least for wadia stuff.

zaphod said:

hey Rich, where did you get the 170i? the closest dealer i can find in canada is in edmonton. there was one in Richmond, but i seems to have dried up - at least for wadia stuff.

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I got mine from The Hifi Attic in Vernon (they're an authorised Wadia dealer, as far as I can tell). Speak to Lyle or Chris on (250) 260-3336, and tell 'em I sent ya!

tonepub said:

It doesn't have quite as much air, dynamics or weight, but it is surprisingly good. The DAC in the 781 is still pretty amazing.

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Any idea how much better "modded" 170's are? Like the one sold by Great Northern Sounds?

My understanding is the Wadia isn't exactly a low jitter device... that is an area that can be improved. My RDC-7 has an Apogee clock in it, so that is not such a big deal for me, except for my understanding that having an even lower jitter signal to begin with can only enhance the performance of the clock and DAC in my processor.

Thoughts?

RichTeer said:

I got mine from The Hifi Attic in Vernon (they're an authorised Wadia dealer, as far as I can tell). Speak to Lyle or Chris on (250) 260-3336, and tell 'em I sent ya!

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thanks Rich. i'll give them a buzz.