Wadax Reference Server

[Elliot G.]

Good one! However, I can understand calling the Wadax a lot of things, but "designed to disappear" it is not, at least visually.
BTW I think the 468 is gorgeous.
PS to Elliot- the Lampi doesn't count in any conversation about the visual merits of audio gear due to it's lack of uniqueness.. It doesn't distinguish itself visually from countless other pieces of tube gear!

PS to Marty , we all have different opinions about looks. We may all go to the same strip club but I can rest assured we all wont pick the same girl LOL

 

[Elliot G.]

and oh yes the Lampi is just butt ugly and looks like something thrown together DIY

 

[Ron Resnick]

Mercifully, I have no dog in this hunt, er, DAC comparison.

Personally, I think Wadax looks wacky in somehow an organic way. Lampizator looks to me like a contemporary version of 1950s Russian laboratory equipment. MSB looks to me very contemporary -- but I find unlabeled buttons and knobs to be annoying.

 

[DasguteOhr]

for me it is more of a modern version of a fireplace clock. ok a bit weird from the design, but you set yourself apart from the rest of the manufacturers .new ways in design are always laughed at first later they are cult objects

 

[andromedaaudio]

I think it looks nice / well made .
A bit of bling bling why not , its about succeeding in the high end
Most is designed to sell well in the asian market i reckon .
They have people talking about the gear , i d say mission accomplished

 

[Solypsa]

1951 Allard P2 Safari

View attachment 87204

Man that Allard Safari would make a sick cal-style surf wagon custom .

 

[tima]

for me it is more of a modern version of a fireplace clock. ok a bit weird from the design, but you set yourself apart from the rest of the manufacturers.

And pretty much everything else in the known aesthetic universe.

new ways in design are always laughed at first later they are cult objects

I realize some things may not be appreciated until later in history - look at Beethoven's later string quartets. But counting on potential cult status does not strike me as a viable marketing strategy - the road to the future will be paved with recycled appliances.

 

[spiritofmusic]

It's hardly more fussy than the Vyger or more appropriately, the AF0. I don't see many saying these are fridges in waiting.

 

[andromedaaudio]

fridges

That spot is taken already .
Goldmund TELOS 5500 Nextgen

 

[spiritofmusic]

PS to Marty , we all have different opinions about looks. We may all go to the same strip club but I can rest assured we all wont pick the same girl LOL

Elliot, you mean the girls are different? You could have fooled me.

 

[rando]

Man that Allard Safari would make a sick cal-style surf wagon custom .

Too desirable to use as one though. Dung beetle would be just as hard to keep parked in SoCal.

The interesting gambit would be an ultra modern electric vehicle with a face like this server.

 

[DasguteOhr]

And pretty much everything else in the known aesthetic universe.



I realize some things may not be appreciated until later in history - look at Beethoven's later string quartets. But counting on potential cult status does not strike me as a viable marketing strategy - the road to the future will be paved with recycled appliances.

For the manufacturer, it's about the recognition value of its products, for the buyer at some point of cult status.
There is no better advertising ,when a design is polarized and there is a lot of public discussion about it.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

my guess about the industrial design of the Wadax is that they approached the design as a clean sheet of paper, made the best possible skeleton chassis for performance and modularity for future proofing, then did the look and feel serving that performance without compromising any technical issue. form follows function. others start with a design form factor, and back into the technical design. i prefer the Wadax approach and priorities. it's as uncompromised as possible. like my approach to my system. sleek and elegant is ok, but not if it has a performance cost. at least to me.

i say bravo, it's a Home Run, they hit it out of the park. please Wadax, stay true to that ethos and it will serve you well. love it, or hate it, it's leading, not following.

from Alberto Ochoa, Wadax industrial designer and sculptor....

“We created a sculptural concept made of 3 elements that connect visually as a whole, while flowing as a single entity. Its unique design lines combine power, accuracy and aesthetics, ressembling the unique musical properties of Reference DAC to bind a pure emotional connection with the listener. The consistency of this value proposition is complemented with a fully modular and upgradeable system.”
“This achievement implied a specific choice of aircraft grade alloys and extreme machining accuracy. Due to this, all parts are milled from solid blocks. 5 different and specific alloys are used and more than 320Kg of alloy is the starting point for the production of the chassis. The whole assembly of the chassis must be done by a single highly skilled artisan and involves over 100 hours.”
“A fussion of beauty and performance. Artisan work and State of the Art digital manufacturing techniques. A unique timeless techno-sculptural piece.”

 

[tima]

For the manufacturer, it's about the recognition value of its products, for the buyer at some point of cult status.
There is no better advertising ,when a design is polarized and there is a lot of public discussion about it.

Perhaps - it does have a 'look at me' character as if it wants to draw attention to itself. Purple hair with lots of metal in its face. I don't use this type of audio device. For all I know maybe it is built like a tank and carries the very soul of Mozart within in its design, but I see no artisanal timelessness - to me it is just another blingy object in a modern world full of blingy objects whose outward appearance is all I'll ever know of it. Put a bag over it. That is not a comment about the people who own it or lust for it or make it or sell it. I shouldn't even be in this thread.

 

[Tango]

Congratulation to the Wadax and Audio Exotics team. Great job.

 

[nonesup]

Without going into evaluating the aesthetics of the Reference series, I would say that of the three (Arcadia, Atlantis, Reference) all designed by Estudio Ochoa and Diaz Llanos, the one I like the most (and by far) is Atlantis.

 

[bonzo75]

Congratulation to the Wadax and Audio Exotics team. Great job.

The real truth in audio

 

[AndrewChen]

The word that comes to mind is; garish.

 

[Sa683s]

Style & sound can be very personal, but those taobao buttons , I cannot link with the word "High end"

 

[Stereophonic]

Congratulation to the Wadax and Audio Exotics team. Great job.

It was time question. World has become very small….