Wonderfully musical; extremely accurate; solidly built; great looking; great factory support.

None yet apparant. Yes, I agree the remote is a bit dictatorial (it needs be pointed straight on) but that's not as much a weakness as it is just something to remember.

First, my associated equipment--CJ MV55 amp, CJ PV10 pre-amp, Klipsch Kg4 speakers (soon to be replaced), AudioQuest cabling. Based upon reviews and price, I was most interested in the Wadia 830. Thanks to a great deal, I ended up with the 850 (which I'm now listening through some Transparent MusicLink Supers).

Second, the audio shop's listening equipment--McIntosh integrated amp (I don't recall the model), JMLabs Electra 920 speakers, Tara Labs cabeling.

Third, my listening music--Dave Matthews (Live at Red Rocks & acoustic Luther College), Brubeck & Rushing (the only one out there), Armstrong & Fitzgerald (taken from a compliation), Diana Krall (the latest one) and some Greatful Dead (One from the Vault), Eric Clapton (live) and Smashing Pumpkins (Adore) thrown in for good measure.

Now, a few thoughts:

Classe. About $3,200. Nice machine, good looking and good sounding. However, the CDP.1 lacks the overall musicality the 850 provides--the 850 provided deeper and tighter low levels, crisper highs and was less punchy. The 850 did a better job with more complex musical arrangements--greater definition and differentiation. Given the price, the Classe did not seem a great value, especially in light of the 830.

Copeland. Another nice machine. Seemed pretty acurate and having HDCD (the Classe has this too) would be nice but is/was not an imperative for me. Lacked the depth and imaging of the Krell & Wadias.

Krell. About $4,500. Incredibly accurate and detailed. There was not a bit of information or sound that got past the Krell. Still, bright and a bit cold. I suspect a fatigue-inducing machine.

Wadia 830. About $2,800. I started my testing with a comparison of the Krell & 830. Pound for pound, the 830 was a better machine (and an infinately better value). The 830 produced a much warmer, richer sound. Setting aside the 850, this was the most "musical" of the machines that I tested; while the Krell was a bit more detailed (and only a bit), the 830 provided a more balanced sound. It shares many of the positive attributes listed for the 850.

Wadia 850. Incredible. Crowd noise on the Dave Matthews live discs was richer and showed more movement through the 850. Complex hard musical bursts and pops were bloomy rather than punchy. This machine really ran away from the pack when playing jazz. Bass was deep, round and better balanced. And both Rushing and Armstrong sounded richer and warmer than on any other machine. When listening to Clapton, I swear the 850 picked up sounds that the Classe and Copland just did not. Muscial notes started and stopped with percision. Great imaging and spacing between instruments and sounds. Guitar string plucks and strums are crisper and more separate than I've ever heard them.

Since I've taken the 850 home I've listened both through my pre-amp and directly through my amp. I've yet to make up my mind as to my preference.

A side note--the JMLabs Electras are really nice sounding. I'm going to listen to 915's and the Meadowlark (Hot Rod) Herons, the Audio Physics Virgos and the Theil 3.6's. Any suggestions?

Similar Products Used:

Classe CDP.1, Copland 289, Krell KAV 300, Wadia 830.

It is able to gift the listener a full presention of the recording

The digital volume control ONLY works best at '75" and above

After owning a Levinson 36/37, an Audio Research CD-2 and DAC-3, a Wadia 830......the Wadia 850 fulfills all I am looking for in a one box CD player, with the optional digital inputs and using a Pioneer DV-09 as a transport, it can also play the Chesky 24/96 DVD-A's.

Similar Products Used:

Had owned a Wadia 830, the 850 is SUBSTANTIALLY better and more resolving.

my equipment;cd player nakamichi cd4, pre rotel rc971, 2 power amps rb971, tuner nad412, speakers dali850, cd to pre inter mit4, pre to 2 power amps inter mit5.

very quiet and low distortion speakers that can take a lot of power. speakers a little boomer in the beginning and i realised that i placed it too close to the rear wall. after spiking and moving it outwards, it sounds wonderfull now.

voices are the most natural i have every heard. no harshness of high frequency even at very loud levels, a must for classical lovers with high dynamic range passages. imaging is good.

for jazz the response time is very good for drums.

what is most important is that i auditioned the b&w p5, mission 753f and kelly tranducers2 all of which are 5 stars. the most disappointing are the 753, they pale in comparison to the b&w and kellys. soundstage of b&w and vocals seem poor compared side by side to the kellys. but the kellys was using a silk tweeter of sorts and the distortion level was not my cup of tea at high volume. after all that i listened to the dali850. was simply impressed with how neutral the sound was, simblance was down to a minimal unlike the kellys.
it was the only speaker that had any low frequency at all when i drove a 20-20k signal thru the speakers. so i bought them.