Wadax Server PSU unit has now arrived

[Mike Lavigne]

Enjoy your vacation, Mike. Thanks for your observations. Much appreciated sir. (along with @Audiocrack)

Tom

thanks Tom. since i'm retired, i'm always on vacation. just mostly it's an at home 'stay'cation.. i'm only 10 months into this retirement thing, so maybe later it won't seem like a vacation. hope not.

in any case i will enjoy my trip.....thank you.

 

[Audiocrack]

from the first note, it's a different level of product. another realm.

i've just spent 3 hours straight listening since dinner, and an hour prior. it's been turned on since about 3pm today. the word that comes to mind is 'complete'. it's always the word i used to explain how analog compares to digital. digital has been accurate but by degrees not complete....even the Wadax. before. this step is all the way to complete. tonality is fully fleshed out, but with textures and nuance along with it. no warming over here, just more meat on the bones. and bass, bass, bass. not "demo wow" bass but musically complimentary and immersive bass. interesting how the extra push to the small bits wakes up the music with familiar cuts. and the degree of flow and propulsion is remarkable. and nothing flat or lacking a sense of space or air. the music is organic and has substance. i'm hearing deeper into vocals and every instrument. more harmonics, more leading edge agility and overtones. there is a spooky 'live-ness' on many cuts. 'alive'. vocals 'pop'. listened to a few golden age jazz cuts and the energy from the horns and pianos is like vinyl, the grain less and projected energy and lively soundstage is vinyl like.

and i know what vinyl like is.

the grip and authority to the music adds to the level of realism. digital large orchestral and chamber music, my first love and most listened to music, is now on another planet from where it was yesterday. as great as the Wadax has been doing that stuff, it pales to what i'm now hearing.

my guess at how this can happen is that Wadax has already done the hardest work by correcting digital distortion with their look forward correction, cleaned up the server/dac interface with the Akasa interface, and brought superior over-the-top execution and single brand synergy. now they bring superior power to light the fire to the music. just my mind trying to make sense of what i'm hearing. better power is just part of the equation.

still have to install my footers. and give me a few weeks to listen to some vinyl and spend more time. i'm gone Tuesday to Alaska for a week, when back i'll be doing some vinyl compares. see how this shakes out.

agree. mightily rewarding indeed.

Imo the Wadax trio has less artifacts than vinyl, Mike. And I believe you are listening to this trio with the stock dc cables. Please keep in mind that when you would add to this trio two Wadax Akasa dc cables between the reference dac and its two PSU’s the level of performance will be enhanced once again in a similar way as you are now experiencing with the reference PSU. Possibly the latter will happen again once we add an Akasa dc cable between the reference server and its reference PSU but I cannot confirm this myself because (like you) I am still using the stock dc cable between these components.

 

[Audiocrack]

So I guess what I am saying is that even after adding the reference PSU you can still achieve a much more impressive / realistic sound with this Wadax trio.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Imo the Wadax trio has less artifacts than vinyl, Mike.

not going there. i see that differently. give me a month or two and i will comment.

And I believe you are listening to this trio with the stock dc cables. Please keep in mind that when you would add to this trio two Wadax Akasa dc cables between the reference dac and its two PSU’s the level of performance will be enhanced once again in a similar was as you are now experiencing with the reference PSU. Possibly the latter will happen again once we add an Akasa dc cable between the reference server and its reference PSU but I cannot confirm this myself because (like you) I am still using the stock dc cable between these components.

thanks Rudolf. yes; IF i do try those Akasa DC cables (dac <-> dac ps) i expect they will bring more degrees of this big step. from Harley's and Roy's reviews that is how they put it. not sure those are doable for me, but we will see.

adding the Wadax Ref Server Power Supply is called 'Level 3', then those spendy DC cables are then called 'Level 4'.

i'm pretty damn happy with Level 3. and i'm already pinching myself that i got this far.

 

[Audiocrack]

thanks Rudolf. yes; IF i do try those Akasa DC cables (dac <-> dac ps) i expect they will bring more degrees of this big step. from Harley's and Roy's reviews that is how they put it. not sure those are doable for me, but we will see.

adding the Wadax Ref Server Power Supply is called 'Level 3', then those spendy DC cables are then called 'Level 4'.

i'm pretty damn happy with Level 3. and i'm already pinching myself that i got this far.

Sure, fully understand where you are coming from Mike. Keep on enjoying your current set up and … even without adding the Akasa dc cables it will get clearly better by adding the RevOpods and burning in the reference PSU. So one way or another there is more ‘beauty’ to come

 

[dcathro]

not going there. i see that differently. give me a month or two and i will comment.

thanks Rudolf. yes; IF i do try those Akasa DC cables (dac <-> dac ps) i expect they will bring more degrees of this big step. from Harley's and Roy's reviews that is how they put it. not sure those are doable for me, but we will see.

adding the Wadax Ref Server Power Supply is called 'Level 3', then those spendy DC cables are then called 'Level 4'.

i'm pretty damn happy with Level 3. and i'm already pinching myself that i got this far.

Are the cables more than the PSU?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Are the cables more than the PSU?

the Wadax Reference Server PSU has a retail price of $52,700. Each Akasa DC Cable has a retail price of $20,400 for a 1 meter. not sure the upcharge for longer lengths, but it's not huge relatively. the Wadax Reference dac has 2 power supplies, so needs 2 DC cables. the Ref server has one power supply, so one DC cable. so the full meal deal requires 3 DC cables.

to answer your question 2 Akasa DC cables (for the dac) would retail for $40,800, verses the PSU at $52,700. but adding all 3 DC cables would be $61,200.

Rudolf only acquired 2 of these cables for his Wadax set-up, just for his dac power supplies. if i do audition these cables it would be 2 only, then i could also try one for the PSU by itself.

 

[Audiocrack]

the Wadax Reference Server PSU has a retail price of $52,700. Each Akasa DC Cable has a retail price of $20,400 for a 1 meter. not sure the upcharge for longer lengths, but it's not huge relatively. the Wadax Reference dac has 2 power supplies, so needs 2 DC cables. the Ref server has one power supply, so one DC cable. so the full meal deal requires 3 DC cables.

to answer your question 2 Akasa DC cables (for the dac) would retail for $40,800, verses the PSU at $52,700. but adding all 3 DC cables would be $61,200.

Rudolf only acquired 2 of these cables for his Wadax set-up, just for his dac power supplies. if i do audition these cables it would be 2 only, then i could also try one for the PSU by itself.

The Akasa dc cables require (indeed) a serious investment, financially speaking. I first had in mind to try one on the reference server, but the review of Roy Gregory changed my mind and in the end I (indeed) opted for two Akasa cables for the reference dac: first of all Roy was not that enthusiastic about the Akasa dc cable in combination with the reference server (although his conclusion can of course be system dependent cq a matter of personal taste). Secondly by bringing the dac on a higher level not only the reference server profits but also my cd-replay. I compared the latter with the two stock dc cables versus the two Akasa dc cables. The sonic differences for the better with the Akasa dc cables are more than profound and - as Robert Harley already concluded in his review in TAS - more or less comparable with adding the PSU to the reference server. So in my view a worthwhile investment.

 

[Elliot G.]

Congratulations Mike I am really happy that you are enjoying the RPS. I think you will only like it more after it settles in .
I look forward to you getting the opportunity, post Alaska , to try the level 4 path.
IMO and through my experiences I think that these items will take your system beyond what you thought a digital playback system was capable of.
I have tried first the Akasa from the server to the RPS and as i wrote recently i have been at level 4.
Level 4 is truly something different in that you are sitting and listening to a holistic musical environment and experience that I have never had before. All of my music sounds better, all of it! On better recordings you can easily get lost and forget where you are.
on some of my live recordings, Steve Gadd and friends live at Voce, i am sitting in the audience and want to shush the people at the table next to me. The sound of the organ, sax and of course Gadd’s drum is just plain there in front of me.
To be honest I wasn’t prepared for this experience and had no desire to spend the money to buy these cables but alas I don’t think I can live without them.
Damn you Javier lol

 

[RoyGregory]

The Akasa dc cables require (indeed) a serious investment, financially speaking. I first had in mind to try one on the reference server, but the review of Roy Gregory changed my mind and in the end I (indeed) opted for two Akasa cables for the reference dac: first of all Roy was not that enthusiastic about the Akasa dc cable in combination with the reference server (although his conclusion can of course be system dependent cq a matter of personal taste). Secondly by bringing the dac on a higher level not only the reference server profits but also my cd-replay. I compared the latter with the two stock dc cables versus the two Akasa dc cables. The sonic differences for the better with the Akasa dc cables are more than profound and - as Robert Harley already concluded in his review in TAS - more or less comparable with adding the PSU to the reference server. So in my view a worthwhile investment.

You report my initial findings accurately - but those have since been updated (like the Akasa DC cables). Following my experiences (and the experiences of other listeners) with prototype samples, the design was modified and the results with the Server are now in line with those achieved with the DAC. You can find the update here:

https://gy8.eu/blog/shifting-foundations/5/

Apologies if the time lag has led anybody astray...

 

[Audiocrack]

You report my initial findings accurately - but those have since been updated (like the Akasa DC cables). Following my experiences (and the experiences of other listeners) with prototype samples, the design was modified and the results with the Server are now in line with those achieved with the DAC. You can find the update here:

https://gy8.eu/blog/shifting-foundations/5/

Apologies if the time lag has led anybody astray...

Thank you for this update, somehow I missed your new listening experiences with the modified Akasa dc cable casu quo the fact that this dc cable was updated at all.

This news raises one question. In my audio system, centered around the Tidal La Assoluta loudspeakers, I have tried to maximize the performance of the Wadax rig by a. placing the Wadax Reference dac, Wadax Reference server and Wadax Reference PSU on two pure, oxygen free (and heavily sanded bur for the rest untreated (so no coating)) copper plates that are stacked on top of each other to create mass, b. mass loading these three Wadax components with (again the same) two pure, oxygen free and sanded copper plates that are stacked on each other (Revopods are being used for these mass loading copper slabs) and c. going extreme with top of the line Tripoint Audio grounding each Wadax Reference unit. In addition I am grounding the copper platforms on which the Wadax Reference dac, Wadax Reference server and Wadax Reference PSU are standing. Set up as such I experience with the digital replay less artifacts than I experience with vinyl replay and to my ears the digital replay surpasses analog replay in certain ways (for example in the low end). In your original review of the - apparent prototype - Akasa dc cables and Wadax Reference PSU you came to the overall conclusion that you preferred in your audio system vinyl replay to the Wadax Reference server, Wadax Reference dac, Wadax Reference PSU and (three) Akasa dc cables combination. However, the new (or current) version of the Akasa dc cable is apparently superior to the prototype version you originally tested. May I therefore please ask you the following: do you still overall prefer vinyl replay to digital replay with three new Akasa dc cables in your audio system?

Thanks again for your update.

 

[RoyGregory]

To be clear, the changes to the early sample Akasa DC impacted the performance of the DC cable with the Server, but things remained constant in the context of the Ref DAC.

Currently, I would rank the vinyl replay (Grand Prix Audio Monaco, Kuzma 4P14/Fuuga and 4P11/Etna Lambda SL with CH P10) as the best overall source oin the system, followed by the Wadax Atlantis Reference Transport/Ref DAC and then the Server/PSU. That means, more music sounds more satisfying more of the time on the three sources in that order. However, what the Akasa DC cables have done is raise the Server far closer to the transport, much more often and increased the number of times that a file can outperform its disc equivalents (vinyl or optical). For the first time, the Server is now a genuinely viable source for critical listening. - and I'm finally getting to enjoy all those "reach and variety' advantages that streaming was always supposed to provide.

Currently, the network is the focus of systematic improvement, on which I've strated to report, but there is much more to come. In many ways, it is the weakest and most vulnerable element in the file replay chain - which at least has the benefit of providing easy wins!

 

[Audiocrack]

I had the great pleasure to talk to Javier yesterday. We inter alia discussed about the (relative) quality of the various audio formats. He informed me furthermore that the Wadax reference (sa)cd transport is nearing its completion. According to him this new transport sounds - in its stand alone configuration, that is without combining it with a reference PSU - extraordinary. If I understood him correctly (and I am pretty sure I did) the new Wadax reference (sa)cd transport will eclipse the Wadax reference server, sonically speaking.

 

[Elliot G.]

I had the great pleasure to talk to Javier yesterday. We inter alia discussed about the (relative) quality of the various audio formats. He informed me furthermore that the Wadax reference (sa)cd transport is nearing its completion. According to him this new transport sounds - in its stand alone configuration, that is without combining it with a reference PSU - extraordinary. If I understood him correctly (and I am pretty sure I did) the new Wadax reference (sa)cd transport will eclipse the Wadax reference server, sonically speaking.

So have you finally installed the DC cables and listened?

 

[Audiocrack]

So have you finally installed the DC cables and listened?

I sure did and reported back (albeit briefly because I only very recently installed all my - by now burned in - Tripoint Audio ‘grounding’ stations and grounding cables in my system). May I please refer to the comments I made as well as to the recent pictures I posted in the Tidal La Assoluta thread on this forum?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

now i've done it!

the three 'red' Akasa DC cables (level 4 in Wadax-speak) are incoming to compare to my standard DC cables for the Wadax Ref Dac and Ref Server, and suppose to arrive Monday for me to audition. i'll have to somehow stage this so i isolate the effect of the single Akasa DC cable for the Server, and the pair of Akasa DC cables for the Dac.

probably throw them all in to begin with, then take one set out at a time.

then have to look for the couch change to pay for them. it will take a gaggle of couches.

 

[Amir]

To be clear, the changes to the early sample Akasa DC impacted the performance of the DC cable with the Server, but things remained constant in the context of the Ref DAC.

Currently, I would rank the vinyl replay (Grand Prix Audio Monaco, Kuzma 4P14/Fuuga and 4P11/Etna Lambda SL with CH P10) as the best overall source oin the system, followed by the Wadax Atlantis Reference Transport/Ref DAC and then the Server/PSU. That means, more music sounds more satisfying more of the time on the three sources in that order. However, what the Akasa DC cables have done is raise the Server far closer to the transport, much more often and increased the number of times that a file can outperform its disc equivalents (vinyl or optical). For the first time, the Server is now a genuinely viable source for critical listening. - and I'm finally getting to enjoy all those "reach and variety' advantages that streaming was always supposed to provide.

Currently, the network is the focus of systematic improvement, on which I've strated to report, but there is much more to come. In many ways, it is the weakest and most vulnerable element in the file replay chain - which at least has the benefit of providing easy wins!

Roy
Thank you for sharing your experience
I always read your comments and your website .

I like your audio thinking .

 

[Elliot G.]

New video with Wadax Level 4 system

 

[Elliot G.]

now i've done it!

the three 'red' Akasa DC cables (level 4 in Wadax-speak) are incoming to compare to my standard DC cables for the Wadax Ref Dac and Ref Server, and suppose to arrive Monday for me to audition. i'll have to somehow stage this so i isolate the effect of the single Akasa DC cable for the Server, and the pair of Akasa DC cables for the Dac.

probably throw them all in to begin with, then take one set out at a time.

then have to look for the couch change to pay for them. it will take a gaggle of couches.

Have fun get your popcorn ready.
your going to need a few couches LOL

 

[mxk116]

I had the good fortune to visit Elliot yesterday and have a lengthy listen. Elliot was kind enough to substitute the Divin Marquis for the Noblesse and insert the amps I use at home, the WestminsterLab Rei mono blocks, for the Riviera mono blocks. Based on what I heard the system had the ability to transport one to the venue of the recording. Truly remarkable; effortless, dynamic but capable of the intimacy and tonal variety necessary to present every musical genre we listened to faithfully (and Elliot and I threw wide variety of genres at the system). I cannot overlook the speakers ability to recreate not only an appropriate width but also height of the music in its presentation. And not just the instruments and voices but the spatial volume around instruments and voices. I have no doubt this ability contributed mightily to my experience.

Frankly, although one cannot miss the Wadax components in the room, my experience was so compelling they never came up in conversation. I can only assume the three “red” Akasa cables were in use. Perhaps Elliot can confirm their use during my time there but whatever was in play I will have a smile on my face remembering the time I spent.