The Wadia 850 is an excellent integrated CD transport and D/A. A digital volume control is included. The 850 has unbalanced and balanced outputs and can drive any amplifier directly. It is now the key component in my system and it is connected directly to the amplifier. The elimination of the preamp made a dramatic improvement. The 850 is detailed, open and delivers excellent bass, midrange and treble. A slight amount of grain at the high end but lower than any other unit tested (all the big guns). Digital inputs and outputs provide flexibility for connection of DSS and DVDs with all digital connections. Every CD I own is now a new CD, the experience is wonderful.

Detailed, Airy, Dynamic, Deep Bass, transparent and Hugh Soundstage, build quality.

The remote control has be pointed straight on to function

The Wadia 850 CD player is superb. When connected directly to a power amp, the sound is just incredible. Better than anything I have heard. When I hooked the Wadia up to a Mark Levinson amp and Magneplanar 1.5QR speakers, it took all but 2 minutes to convince me of its superiority over other high end players. Two other friends were listening at the same time. We were all amazed. Lots of detail, air, stunning bass and a hugh soundstage. The midrange is life like. Good recordings reward you with an extraordinary musical experience. Bad recordings will sound bad.
Whats even more wonderful about this player is that you can adjust the output level to match your system. In my case I change the factory output level from 4 volts to 1/2 (yes 1/2 volts). This allows you to be able to play at higher volume (digital controled) so that you get higher resolution, with the same listening (loudness level) as before the Wadia.
The only critizism is the remote control. Its made to last forever, but has to be ponited straigh on to function. At 500.00 for the remote, I was very dissapointed. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Mark Levinson, Audio Research, Krell, Proceed

Very musical and accurate. Built like a tank.

Remote has narrow field.

It's hard to believe the improvement in sound this excellent CD player made in my system. The sound is both sweet, detailed and just right. It is as close to hearing the real thing as I have heard. Of course, my other components are excellent as well and contribute to the overall sound of the system. However, I tried 4 other top notch CD players and the Wadia was the most musical and involving. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Mark Levinson, Rega Planet, Arcam, Sonic Frontiers

Smoothness, transparancy, high frequency detail, and proper low frequency "vinyl emulation", remote functions as a deadly weapon

It's quite heavy

I want to say first, that LCBIII rates the product lower because the digital volume control works best at 75 and over, well obivously he didn't keep reading his manual because there are dip switches inside to tailor the gain to your liking.
On to why I like this piece:

1. The company... Wadia was the first company to admit that vinyl sounds better than CD, they developed the first outboard DAC, they were the first to recognize jitter as a cause of degredation, they were the first to create a clock syncronization between a transport and a DAC. Even if you don't understand any of this jargon, I am just mentioning a few of the notable contributions of Wadia to digital technology which all other companies have built off of (except maybe Naim who still insists that the key to digital is in the power supply? Keep trying guys!). The founders of the company were so dedicated, they left their positions at 3M to create Wadia and make digital equipment that bettered its analougue counterparts.

2. The sound... The Wadia 850 uses an oversampling DAC (digimaster) which greatly enhances the resolution. In fact, its quite an improvement over 24/96 or 24/192 by a long shot. With their technology the signal is oversampled to 20/2800 improving the high frequency resolution and the low frequency extention. Adding this CD player to your system feels like adding a large subwoofer with a 35hz cut-off point, it's amazing.

3. The build... Before I even plugged in the 850, I took the top off to have a look inside. There is obvious attention to detail, and a great portion of the electronics are shielded in a separate enclosure. The power supply is generous, and I couldn't keep track of how many Burr Brown parts I saw inside. The thick chassis walls keep resonance to a minimum and the built in metal cones anchor the unit properly.

Overall, give Wadia a try if you can afford it, and even if you are thinking of buying Forsell, or a CD-12, or even an Oracle CD turntable, you may be surprised. Also, consider the advantages of using the digital inputs, you can have Vinyl at 20 bits 2.8 mhz (comparable to SACD, only the data that is oversampled is actually present on an SACD).

Similar Products Used:

Wadia 860, Oracle CD-Turntable, Arcam CD-23, Arcam CD-92, Arcam Delta BB-50 Dac and 170.3 transport, Thorens TCD-2000

Detail, bass extension, beautiful vinyl like feel

I cannot afford a second 850.

This is the best sounding, all in one CD player that I have ever heard, the 850 does everything well. While the 850 is somewhat pricey, using the 850 allows you to skip the expense of adding a preamplifier. In my opinion, the 850 is the best sounding CD player Wadia makes. I know, I know that the 861 is supposed to be soo much better. Unfortunately, I do not see that big of a difference that I could justify the added expense of the 861. Buy an 850 and send it to Steve Huntley for an upgrade. You will be very satisfied.

Similar Products Used:

Wadia 860(861), Wadia 830, Levinson 30.9

Eliminating a preamplifier makes this system competitive and you can controll everything with the remote. Lovely featured for the high tech freaks .Keep extra batteries because the remote is relatively power hungry.
You normally get CD&DA converter system which either excel in power but no refinement, or vice versa.

This system offers both dynamism, control and depth on full spectrum available .

Very expensive, but remember, it is not necessary to have a preamplifiers because the build in quality is already superior.
A Dream machine for those who only plays CD.

I have yet to listen to ANY cd player or d/a that competes with any of the Wadia products,the others sound hi-fi-ish,detail yes,but not musical,and getting you INTO the music,like the Wadia's can. The only one that comes close is the new $7000 d/a from Sonic Frontier,close but no cigar.Check out the Wadia's,be happy!

I am at the point of buying new speakers. The last couple of years I had a pair of Driade 9 speakers, which look superb, but the sound of it never really engaged me.
The CDM-7 SE's are high on my list, although I am also still considering other B&W's (P4/5; CDM-1 SE)
and even speakers from other manufacturers, like the
Dali 450/850,
Celestion A1/2,
Mission 753,
KEF Q55/65,
Castle Avon/Harlech,
Acoustic Energy 109/120,
Monitor Audio MA 70# PMC,
Ruark Acoustic Scepter
So, it's obvious I still have quite a lot of listening to do.

My amp and CD are from Harman/Kardon (6500 and 730, resp.) wired with Van Den Hul cables and interlink. At this moment the CDM-7 SE's have my but I don't know how they hook up with my amp and CD. Your experience on any of these speakers or suggestions are highly welcome.

The Dali 850 is not just a beauty for the ear, but also a beauty for the eye.It is a big speaker which takes up a lot of space, but the high quality finish (ex. Real Mahogoni), and the design makes it a beautiful furniture which fits in nicely in most rooms.
The sound is warm and real. With a solid and clear bass and an almost perfect reflection of voices the Dali 850 can make a music listening experience an extraordinary one.
If you have a chance, then you shouldn't miss it. Go listen to this well balanced all around speaker from Dali.

Wadia 850 when conected direct to power amplifier is(toghether with Wadia 860)the best sounding one box CD player on the earth. Bass definition and attack, midrange and tweeter clarity and naturalness are of true high end class. Construction is simply outstanding. Wadia 850 is product of superior quality in every instance.