Solid State Transport - anybody heard one of these

Does anybody know if the US version will work in the UK?

quote:

Originally posted by Frank Abela:
Regarding the Wadia being the only 3rd party unit that can pull the digital stream from an iPod, the story I've heard is that Wadia, like all the other companies trying to develop a dock, applied for the schematics. Unlike the rest, Wadia received ALL the schematics including that for digital streaming from the iPod. Wadia naturally took advantage and built their dock. AFAIK, nobody else has access to this facility, so the Wadia is unique so far.

hank you. It is certainly a coup.
I wonder what keeps someone from cracking one open and figuring it out. To that point, I bet Wadia paid dearly for this scenario. In a similar vein to what AT&T paid for the Iphone distribution here in the USA.

Now if Wadia came out with a reference version of the 170i that includes a master clock link to one of their D/A systems, then I would REALLY be impressed.

I have one of these units and have been using it for several weeks hooked up to a Lavry DAC.

To answer some of the above questions, the transport does not contain its own DAC. The analogue outs rely on the iPod's internal DAC. The digital out (one coax/rca) bypasses the iPod DAC and outputs a digital signal directly.

This evening I carefully level matched the DA10 to my Ayre C-5xe cd/sacd player and compared the two, through my round-earth system #2.* (Both are connected via balanced outputs to the preamp.)

Verdict? To my ears, with the material sampled (not plinky-plonk audiophile stuff, or hi-rez downloads), there was no discernable difference. Both sounded very engaging.

My only mild criticism of the Wadia is that the supplied remote control really only permits forward and reverse track control - i.e., it does not permit full remote control of the iPod.

Next step is adding an older iMac into the mix (pre-optical digital output) into a konnekt 8 into the Lavry. I wonder if this will be any better or worse? At least I should be able to rig this to permit full remote control of iTunes using an iPod touch.

*System 2: Ayre C-5xe, dps 3 tt, Groove phono stage, Levinson 326s preamp and Ayre MX-
R monoblocks into Proac D25s. Not as pacey and engaging as my Naim system, but better for the late-night listening levels for which this system is used.

Thanks Obsessed1 - very informative post.

Still wondering why it costs twice as much in the UK as it does in the US though and if there is any reason a US/Canada version would not work in the UK.

ATB Rotf

Rotf

Hi-FI World has a review this month which I scanned in Smiths yesterday.

I am still thinking hard about a iPod Classic/Wadia + CD3.5 + Systemdek II/home brew phono stage + SNait + Rega R3 solution.

Jono

Thanks Jono

There is also a good article in the on-line free hi-fi magazine tone audio - I won't tell you what the reviewer thought of them; best to read it for yourself, but he did say he had personally ordered six of them; he must have lots of iPods.

ATB Rotf

Hi Rotf

Similar to your desired approach, I've just started running an iTransport/iPod touch as an office setup. The toys are running through either a Meridan 606 DAC or a Lite Dac-Ah into Stax Sr001 II. Compared with the Meridian 602 transport, Apple lossless tracks seem to have a slighty more nimble albeit less deep bass and a better instrument separation than the cd. So the wadia/ipod is somewhat better than a 15 year old dac/transport, albeit one of pretty good quality! (I should note that unlike some of colleagues, I think in a DAc the key part is the A - and in that respect things haven't made a quantum leap in the past decade).

Like you this setup is also a toe in the water for a computer based music system. Next step will be dragging everything home and slotting it into the 252. If it's acceptable than I suspect a hdx may be on the horizon....

regards,

Giles

PS Any thoughts on restarting your magnificient JIm Magilton's Blue and White Army thread?

Oh and to answer your question on whether a Us version will work in the UK, the power gizmo for the iTransport is a "wadia switching power adapter" I/P:AC 100-240v 50/60Hz 0.55A O/P DC12v, 2A. This is a separate box from the iTransport, connected by a wadia specific umbilical.

The power supply has a figure of eight power cable input so the appropriate cable/plug can be inserted -neat solution to competing voltages. My guess is that this is actually a universal device as far as power goes. The supply runs pretty hot down here in Sydney, so I guess 240 is at the upper margins of input.

regards,

Giles

Hi Giles

Thank you for the notes about the Wadia iTransport - I may get to hear one myself in a few weeks time. I agree with that the key part of DAC is the A.

Not sure if I'll be able to restart the Jim Magilton's Blue and White Army thread, but it was a good match today as we scored near the end to come-back against Swansea for a 2-2 draw with an excellent display by Pablo. I do comment on the matches occasionally in the main football thread.

ATB Rotf

ATB Rotf

But wait there's more....

Apparently Wadia is:
a) developing a matching DAC for the iTransport and
b) developing a higher end all in one unit (iTransport plus DAC).

No word on when these will be released (I have asked though). Could be on a par with the release date for a Naim DAC

regards,

Giles

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:
Thanks Jono

There is also a good article in the on-line free hi-fi magazine tone audio - I won't tell you what the reviewer thought of them; best to read it for yourself, but he did say he had personally ordered six of them; he must have lots of iPods.

ATB Rotf

I don't have that many iPods, but I did get one for all of our reviewers as a present for doing a great job this year....

Can't afford to buy them all CD555's!