Wadax Reference Dac and Server arrive

[the sound of Tao]

enough already of the kerfuffle'ing.

i'm going to try to change the vibe of my previously positive thread back to the fun stuff.........

today i ordered a Wadax Ref Server Power Supply. 45 kilograms of musical love. don't yet know how soon it will arrive, but i am excited about it.

That does sound fun… congratulations Mike, getting in heavy exciting new things is the best part. We all live a bit through everyone else’s journey as well.

 

[Audiocrack]

enough already of the kerfuffle'ing.

i'm going to try to change the vibe of my previously positive thread back to the fun stuff.........

today i ordered a Wadax Ref Server Power Supply. 45 kilograms of musical love. don't yet know how soon it will arrive, but i am excited about it.

Interesting move. Congrats Mike. I have ordered a Wadax reference PSU about three weeks ago and will add one - and possibly two - Akasa reference dc cables to it. Delivery time is said to be about 10-12 weeks.

 

[Audiocrack]

Btw, has anyone the TAS review of Robert Harley of the Wadax Reference PSU and the Akasa reference dc cables available? I have not read it yet.

 

[nonesup]

No problem. I always know what Taiko's fans think.

No, you don't know, you just assume.

 

[howiebrou]

enough already of the kerfuffle'ing.

i'm going to try to change the vibe of my previously positive thread back to the fun stuff.........

today i ordered a Wadax Ref Server Power Supply. 45 kilograms of musical love. don't yet know how soon it will arrive, but i am excited about it.

Congrats Mike. Do you need to order another rack now?

 

[bonzo75]

enough already of the kerfuffle'ing.

i'm going to try to change the vibe of my previously positive thread back to the fun stuff.........

today i ordered a Wadax Ref Server Power Supply. 45 kilograms of musical love. don't yet know how soon it will arrive, but i am excited about it.

This is interesting. When some people on this forum quarrel childlike, Mike intervenes by making a purchase to set the thread back on a positive track.

Maybe Marc and I should start off on the esoteric TT thread.

 

[exupgh12]

briefly saw that. not surprised.

Emile will never stop, and i'll be cheering him on. because i want (1) him to succeed, (2) Taiko customers happy, and (3) it will also push Wadax who are not standing still either. the music lover who wants the best will be the winner.

i did quickly scan that thread. did not see the price.....or get a chance to get deep into details. i did see there will be more details tomorrow.

i'm a very committed Wadax fellow but will be sure to listen to the Taiko Olympus big rig at a show if given a chance.

I think Emile stated on one of his responed, the price will be at least twice the price of the extreme server.
competition is great for us consumer, at the end the technology from pinnacle equipment will root down the chain to more efordable products

 

[Mike Lavigne]

This is interesting. When some people on this forum quarrel childlike, Mike intervenes by making a purchase to set the thread back on a positive track.

Maybe Marc and I should start off on the esoteric TT thread.

the purchase was a long time in the hatching. a year probably. but i had planned to wait until it was shipped to mention it. OTOH the 'children' were miss behaving so i wanted to switch the narrative. the timing of the reveal was the only variable.

if you and Marc actually make purchase decisions based on thread directions, you would both need warehouses for your gear. but by all means please both order Eso T1's. a case can be made.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Congrats Mike. Do you need to order another rack now?

if you look at the rack picture and notice the black object on the far bottom left, which is the air box for the CS Port tt, also notice how it will fit perfectly on the top shelf next to the CS Port, and that another Wadax chassis will fit on the Daiza in that spot. that's the plan. due to power cable lengths i will slide the Wadax Server over to the end and insert the Wadax Server power supply where the server is now. and since the server is on the Daiza i can just slide it easily over.

so my plan was to do this and have all the digital chassis along the bottom and all the analog middle and top. a long term plan which i could not do with the Adona racks and cable lengths due to all the extra legs involved and chassis height.

that air box will also fit on my new longer rear wall mounted shelf behind the racks in an open space, if i need space for another future chassis. i can slide the CS Port tt over 3 inches to the right to allow for a full chassis to the left. so i still have some space for a............to keep Kedar on his toes.......which is essential. and since the overall length of my Massif double wide racks is less than 4 Adona racks, there is a space on the left side floor for something tall too.

 

[howiebrou]

if you look at the rack picture and notice the black object on the far bottom left, which is the air box for the CS Port tt, also notice how it will fit perfectly on the top shelf next to the CS Port, and that another Wadax chassis will fit on the Daiza in that spot. that's the plan. due to power cable lengths i will slide the Wadax Server over to the end and insert the Wadax Server power supply where the server is now. and since the server is on the Daiza i can just slide it easily over.

so my plan was to do this and have all the digital chassis along the bottom and all the analog middle and top. a long term plan which i could not do with the Adona racks and cable lengths due to chassis height and all the extra legs involved.

that air box will also fit on my new longer rear wall mounted shelf behind the racks in an open space, if i need space for another future chassis. i can slide the CS Port tt over 3 inches to the right to allow for a full chassis to the left. so i still have some space for a............to keep Kedar on his toes.......which is essential.

View attachment 121665

Since we now know you planned this awhile back it all makes sense. By airbox is that the pump for the CS Port? If yes, will it introduce unwanted vibrations into the TT? I keep my Micro Seiki pump separate on a totally separate rack.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Since we now know you planned this awhile back it all makes sense. By airbox is that the pump for the CS Port? If yes, will it introduce unwanted vibrations into the TT? I keep my Micro Seiki pump separate on a totally separate rack.

the airbox is essentially inert. to hear it you have to put your ear almost touching it. and you don't feel any vibrations from it when you place your hand on it. one benefit of a low flow, low pressure air supply design on the CS Port.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Btw, has anyone the TAS review of Robert Harley of the Wadax Reference PSU and the Akasa reference dc cables available? I have not read it yet.

yes; it's a rave......he actually equates the Akasa DC cable upgrades to the PSU upgrade. not what Roy said exactly. i'm not doing the cable upgrades at this point. just too much for me. i'm thrilled to be doing the PSU.

 

[Cincy2]

Mike

The Server power supply DID make a noticeable difference in the system sound. The trebles and mids were denser, more saturated. I don't know about their power cords. That may be a step too far for me. I'm already feeding the DAC PS and Server PS with battery power from a Stromtank supply.

Eric

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike

The Server power supply DID make a noticeable difference in the system sound. The trebles and mids were denser, more saturated. I don't know about their power cords. That may be a step too far for me. I'm already feeding the DAC PS and Server PS with battery power from a Stromtank supply.

Eric

Eric, your feedback was part of my picture, thank you. i just added that Prana grounding product to my Wadax server which was nice (that will stay), and i use the Equi=tech 10WQ for my power. i'm sure the Stromtank is awesome too.

 

[Cincy2]

I'm using a CAD Reference Ground Control system. I've had it in and out of the system. The effect is very noticeable. Blacker backgrounds primarily.

Ground Controls - Computer Audio Design

Over the past 10+ years the amount of high frequency noise on our Mains power has increased dramatically due to the use of computers, routers, modems, wifi, switch mode power supplies, etc. The high frequency noise that is generated within our audio systems has also increased: DACs, Servers...

www.computeraudiodesign.com

 

[Elliot G.]

I have one Akasa cable from my RPSU to the server and have for quite a long time. I am going to get the DC cables from my DAC to its power supply units in the near future as I have been told via Javier that this too will make a significant improvement. My system now is at the point that I don't want to touch it LOL however I know that is only a temporary state of affairs. Changes are coming just trying to do them in some systematic way so I understand the changes.

 

[Audiocrack]

With the help of one of our valued members I got access to Robert Harley’s very recent review for TAS of the Wadax reference PSU and the/three Akasa reference dc cables. Interesting to notice is that according to him the Akasa reference dc cables render an improvement much like and comparable to the Wadax reference PSU. Furthermore he - unlike Roy Gregory in his review - seems not to hear a(ny) difference between using the Akasa reference dc cable(s) for the Wadax reference server and reference dac. Roy was of the opinion that the Akasa dc cable between the PSU and the server was sort of a mixed bag (depending on the ‘voicing’ of your audio system). RH does not mention this in his review so I suppose he did not experience the same casu quo he thinks differently about this.

Lastly - and more important to me - RH is very clear about the following: the Akasa reference dc cables (and so does the reference PSU according to him) render (very clear) advantages as regards liquidity of timbre, immediacy, lushness, harmonic beauty, textural density and warmth. While at the same time the transparency/resolution, bass and openness is being improved.

So in short a more pure and realistic musical presentation is being achieved by adding the Wadax reference PSU and Akasa reference dc cables to the Wadax reference server / dac combination. And that is really a great achievement by the Wadax engineering team.

 

[Cincy2]

My Rockport Orions have arrived and were put in place by the Dream Team yesterday. The major contributors were Ron Buffington from Liquid Hi Fi in South Carolina and Jon Zimmer from Rockport Industries in Maine. I feel very lucky to have had the privilege of interacting with both these businessmen. I have done several transaction with Ron / Liquid HiFi and found him to be an ethical, competent dealer willing to go the extra miles (or in this case hundreds of mile) to take care of a customer. Jon from Rockport showed up to assist in the installation and set up of the speakers in my music room. Despite that fact his flight was delayed by crazy weather and he arrived at the hotel a 2AM, he still showed up to enthusiastically provide his expertise. The results were incredibly successful as you shall hear shortly.

The speakers were solidly packed in palletized wooden crates with ample foam to hold them firmly in place. Ron and Jon disassembled the packages and eased the speakers out of their containers.

The speakers were on casters which made them very easy to move into the house and into the elevator to my second floor listening room. Once positioned in the room, Jon began working his magic. He had a very precise, methodical process that was very interesting to watch. Rockport has developed a set of tools that make sliding these 360lb behemoths easy whether they are placed on carpet or solid surface. After an hour or so of adjustments and tests with bass/treble tracks that were familiar to Jon, we reached Audio Nirvana. My last speaker set up included a set of subwoofers to compensate for a bass suck-out caused by my room. In preparation for the Orions, I had a professional simulation done of the room by Vicoustics who designed a total room solution. It works. The bass was smooth and without any issues any of us could detect. The subs were removed from the system.

I cannot find adequate words to describe the sound of this system. Superlatives are meaningless because I've used them all on previous MSB/Magico/dCS/B&W systems I've owned. After 30 years of chasing the Holy Grail of Audiophile Hardware, I have reached the destination. Read Robert Harley's descriptions of Wadax, CH Precision and Rockport. He was dead on. I've followed him for the full 30 years I've been in this hobby and found that his tastes and mine in gear mesh closely.

Finally, this article in the Absolute Sound arrived in my mailbox yesterday. No coincidence I'm sure.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

My Rockport Orions have arrived and were put in place by the Dream Team yesterday. The major contributors were Ron Buffington from Liquid Hi Fi in South Carolina and Jon Zimmer from Rockport Industries in Maine. I feel very lucky to have had the privilege of interacting with both these businessmen. I have done several transaction with Ron / Liquid HiFi and found him to be an ethical, competent dealer willing to go the extra mile (or in this case hundreds of mile) to take care of a customer. Jon from Rockport showed up to assist in the installation and set up of the speakers in my music room. Despite that fact his flight was delayed by crazy weather and he arrived at the hotel a 2AM, he still showed up to enthusiastically provide his expertise. The results were incredibly successful as you shall hear shortly.

The speakers were solidly packed in palletized wooden crates with ample foam to hold them firmly in place. Ron and Jon disassembled the packages and eased the speakers out of their containers.

The speakers were on casters which made them very easy to move into the house and into the elevator to my second floor listening room. Once positioned in the room, Jon began working his magic. He had a very precise, methodical process that was very interesting to watch. Rockport has developed a set of tools that make sliding these 360lb behemoths easy whether they are placed on carpet or solid surface. After an hour or so of adjustments and tests with bass/treble tracks that were familiar to Jon, we reached Audio Nirvana. My last speaker set up included a set of subwoofers to compensate for a bass suck-out caused by my room. In preparation for the Orions, I had a professional simulation done of the room by Vicoustics who designed a total room solution. It works. The bass was smooth and without any issues any of us could detect. The subs were removed from the system.

I cannot find adequate words to describe the sound of this system. Superlatives are meaningless because I've used them all on previous MSB/Magico/dCS/B&W systems I've owned. After 30 years of chasing the Holy Grail of Audiophile Hardware, I have reached the destination. Read Robert Harley's descriptions of Wadax, CH Precision and Rockport. He was dead on. I've followed him for the full 30 years I've been in this hobby and found that his tastes and mine in gear mesh closely.

Finally, this article in the Absolute Sound arrived in my mailbox yesterday. No coincidence I'm sure.

very happy for you Eric. i've followed your journey these last few years, with the MSB and Magico, then the headphones and headphone amps, then CH and Wadax, and now the Rockport. whew! that is a lot of territory in a few short years.

love the pictures and where you are at! must sound heavenly.

congrats!

 

[andromedaaudio]

Very nice combo , i think you have assembled a dream team