pretty sure he had all three 'red' Akasa DC cables installed during your session, since he shipped them to me this morning, and had delayed until then since he had a demo (you) scheduled yesterday.
enjoyed reading your comments.
Wadax Server PSU unit has now arrived
- Thread starter Elliot G.
- Start date
enjoyed reading your comments.
Wow thank you Matt. Is was great meeting you and playing my system for you. You did hear the Wadax at Level 4 which includes all the Akasa DC cables. Sadly today I removed two of them for there cross country trip to the Pacific Northwest. I wonder whether they like altitude and fresh caught Salmon? haha.
The cables are with the Wadax hardware the ultimate expression of what Javier and crew have developed..... for now
I already miss them but they will return in the future and so there is hope in South Florida.
They will be at Axpona and we will try our best to recreate what is in my room on the 15th Floor in the Club room. I am not sure how that will go trying to do this in a room designed for cocktail parties but I do promise that our crew will take the challenge and go forth!!
Very much looking forward to your experience with the level 4 Wadax rig. Enjoy.
the three Akasa DC cables arrived mid day, installed them all cold and unsettled, and i listened to "Level 4" all afternoon. was out tonight.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.
was quite taken by what i heard, will get into it further tomorrow. wanting to listen more and sort out what is going on.
I don't think I spilled enough coinage the other night to pay for the cables. It seems hard to imagine your digital can get any better. Thomas does have a point about it being difficult to tell apart. I'm sure if it was my system I would understand it. Being a guest its all just good music.
I had the pleasure of installing another Reference Power Supply in a clients system this morning . It was really fun to watch the joy in his eyes as he loved what he heard. In fact he said in the first half hour that this was the best his system had ever sounded. The red "devils" from Akasa will follow in a short period of time for him to see what a full level four listening session is about.
ok, these cables have been in the system now for a few hours past 4 days, and they will be gone early Monday. so what have i heard?
first off, they had me smitten at hello. 10-20-30 seconds in on Monday afternoon i could easily tell this was another level. and this addition tipped things over into a realm beyond. there was nothing subtle about it. with my limited time i cannot really say the 3 Akasa DC cables do more than adding the power supply to the Wadax Reference Server. it's possible that if i were to have done the Akasa cables first on the Wadax Reference dac, then added the power supply and the third Akasa DC cable, then that step might have tipped me over in the same way. i've not had the time or the inclination to discover answers to questions like that. the issue is that what this assembly of gear is doing takes me over the top.
so where is 'over the top' Wadax Level 4 exactly?
defining this is why i have not commented until now, trying to get my arms around what i'm hearing, and the implications of it for me. those things, and it's been settling down more and more as i listen.
some feedback....on Sunday, Rex, jazdoc and Scott Sheaffer (Found Music amplifier manufacturer and friend visiting) were over listening. i had the new Wadax Ref Server power supply. then Monday the Akasa cables arrived. then Tuesday evening jazdoc and Scott came over again for an all digital evening to hear what the cables would do.
after Tuesday night's session i asked jazdoc what he thought. he responded he was having too much fun to pay close attention.
anyone who knows him would be surprised we spent 3+ hours listening to digital only and his only comment was how much fun we were having. lol.Scott was a bit more specific. although the first thing out of his mouth was how much fun it was. then he did say it was by far the best digital he has heard. talking about Tuesday verses Sunday he said....zero sense of any etch, the bass tracking was absolutely like analog, which is a weak point of digital. great grip and space in the lower registers, tonality was very right on. he heard a sexiness from digital he had not heard. he also mentioned he felt the break-in for the cables was not yet complete as the superb sound had moments of regression which suggested it had a ways to go. .....and i have heard things sort out since then myself.
what am i hearing?
i'm hearing something equivalent to good vinyl, not suggesting vinyl, or like vinyl, but level with vinyl. but not the same. it's more settled. more solid. not quite as sexy, delicate and exceptional here and there as the very best pressings and a bit different. but it just is so grounded, grain-less, zero sense of any lack of organic rightness. tonal density. solidity in the images. the bass is remarkable.
violins, pianos, vocals, horns, pace and flow are top rank. been listening to lots of piano recordings and waiting to find a niggle. not yet.
i'm hearing exceptional scale and weight, and top to bottom balance. been listening to lots of big music, full orchestral and it nails it. all of it. who knew digital could do large scale so well? it can. have not found any faults yet in presentation. maybe it does not bloom quite like some vinyl.....but it might be more consistent on staying tonally right. it sorts out complicated dynamic music unlike any previous digital and just like great vinyl. Level 4 Wadax does not have nearly as frequent glassy string sections as vinyl does. who knew?
still struggling with the implications. not listened to vinyl now since Sunday. and i only have 2 more days with these. it's inevitable i will acquire my own set of these cables, trying to work out how to make that happen.
obviously this is just what i'm hearing in my particular system. YMMV.
Level 4 Wadax is the real deal.
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Your listening impressions concur with mine (I am ‘only’ listening to two Akasa dc cables currently btw). The low end of the complete Wadax rig is to my ears better than I have ever heard with any vinyl. And due to the lack of distortion it’s presentation is indeed different than vinyl but oh so captivating in its own way. That said, the Wadax combination still profits greatly from top notch grounding (as I have mentioned in the Tidal La Assoluta thread: Javier and his team added dedicated grounding binding posts to the server, the reference PSU for the server and the two PSU’s of the dac with a reason of course). I connected with my best grounding cable my Wadax source component- that is the server - to my best ‘grounding’ box (Tripoint Audio Emperor NG) and even after inserting two Akasa dc cables this grounding adds another level of ‘gentleness’ - or if you want: a ‘humanistic’ feel - because of the added liquidity, serenity and beauty of tone: to my ears digital has finally become utterly captivating.
Fantastic...just so pure digital only people can follow more precisely. Your Wadax Ref system is:ok, these cables have been in the system now for a few hours past 4 days, and they will be gone early Monday. so what have i heard?
first off, they had me smitten at hello. 10-20-30 seconds in on Monday afternoon i could easily tell this was another level. and this addition tipped things over into a realm beyond. there was nothing subtle about it. with my limited time i cannot really say the 3 Akasa DC cables do more than adding the power supply to the Wadax Reference Server. it's possible that if i were to have done the Akasa cables first on the Wadax Reference dac, then added the power supply and the third Akasa DC cable, then that step might have tipped me over in the same way. i've not had the time or the inclination to discover answers to questions like that. the issue is that what this assembly of gear is doing takes me over the top.
so where is 'over the top' Wadax Level 4 exactly?
defining this is why i have not commented until now, trying to get my arms around what i'm hearing, and the implications of it for me. those things, and it's been settling down more and more as i listen.
some feedback....on Sunday, Rex, jazdoc and Scott Sheaffer (Found Music amplifier manufacturer and friend visiting) were over listening. i had the new Wadax Ref Server power supply. then Monday the Akasa cables arrived. then Tuesday evening jazdoc and Scott came over again for an all digital evening to hear what the cables would do.
after Tuesday night's session i asked jazdoc what he thought. he responded he was having too much fun to pay close attention.
Scott was a bit more specific. although the first thing out of his mouth was how much fun it was. then he did say it was by far the best digital he has heard. talking about Tuesday verses Sunday he said....zero sense of any etch, the bass tracking was absolutely like analog, which is a weak point of digital. great grip and space in the lower registers, tonality was very right on. he heard a sexiness from digital he had not heard. he also mentioned he felt the break-in for the cables was not yet complete as the superb sound had moments of regression which suggested it had a ways to go. .....and i have heard things sort out since then myself.
what am i hearing?
i'm hearing something equivalent to good vinyl, not suggesting vinyl, or like vinyl, but level with vinyl. but not the same. it's more settled. more solid. not quite as sexy, delicate and exceptional here and there as the very best pressings and a bit different. but it just is so grounded, grain-less, zero sense of any lack of organic rightness. tonal density. solidity in the images. the bass is remarkable.
violins, pianos, vocals, horns, pace and flow are top rank. been listening to lots of piano recordings and waiting to find a niggle. not yet.
i'm hearing exceptional scale and weight, and top to bottom balance. been listening to lots of big music, full orchestral and it nails it. all of it. who knew digital could do large scale so well? it can. have not found any faults yet in presentation. maybe it does not bloom quite like some vinyl.....but it might be more consistent on staying tonally right. it sorts out complicated dynamic music unlike any previous digital and just like great vinyl. Level 4 Wadax does not have nearly as frequent glassy string sections as vinyl does. who knew?
still struggling with the implications. not listened to vinyl now since Sunday. and i only have 2 more days with these. it's inevitable i will acquire my own set of these cables, trying to work out how to make that happen.
obviously this is just what i'm hearing in my particular system. YMMV.
Level 4 Wadax is the real deal.
- Wadax Ref Server
- Wadax Ref Power Supply to the Server
- Wadax Ref DAC
- Akasa Connection between Server and DAC
- Akasa Connection of 3 DC umbilical cables
Is this about right?
Just wondering about variations in the downloads and whether the lack of sexiness, delicacy and bloom could be dependent on source quality, or is this a consistent difference.
Congrats on your soon to be acquisition btw
thanks Lloyd.
yes; this is the complete 'Level 4' Wadax system.
i also have lots of peripheral supporting bits and pieces as one would expect in a mature system according to my own system direction choices.
---Sablon 'King' power cord for the Ref Server PS, Absolute Fidelity power cords for the two Ref dac PS's.
---Taiko Daiza platforms under each chassis + complete RevOpod footers for each chassis. Massif rack + Nordost Sort Fut footers. concrete floor.
---Nordost Qnet network switch w/Nordost Qsource power supply. Sablon ethernet cable. plus 3 Qpoint synchronizers.
---Phase III Gorgon XLR set of interconnects from DAC to dart pre.
---Tripoint Elite grounding with Thor grounding cable to one of the Ref dac power supply chassis.
i know that Audiocrack does extensive mass loading and much more exotic Tripoint grounding than i do....plus more and slightly different than myself.
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ask me a month after i acquire these 3 Akasa cables for myself, and do much more comparative listening. at this point i'm not hearing distinctive differences between streaming sources and files where they are separating themselves and not listening to direct compare vinyl. i've been more trying to just listen to music for the musical merits and get the big picture as to how i'm connecting. i expect to hear more differences but it's evolving and i'm going to run out of time to really sift through that stuff in the next few days.
thank you. as you mention.....not yet actually acquired them, just a test drive, but i expect to do it shortly.Congrats on your soon to be acquisition btw
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It is at least a year ago when I compared streaming from Quobuz to locally stored files. I have currently no subscription to Quobux or Tidal. At the time I was listening to the Wadax reference server and reference dac combination only, that is without the PSU for the server and the Akasa dc cables. I do not know whether Quobuz and Tidal raised the sonic quality of their steaming services since then but at the time the locally stored files sounded (clearly) better than the streamed versions. I compared 24/96 streams to 24/96 local files. Many of the files I have available from high quality recording companies - such as Challenge Classics (Bert van der Wolf’s recording), Channel Classics (Jared Sacks), TRPTK (Brendon Heist), 2l, Pentatone, etc. - were originally recorded in a higher format. In particular the original dxd recording sounded clearly superior to the streamed files (with a lower resolution). I am wondering: is this no longer the case because Quobuz and Tidal streams are now much better sounding than say a year ago? This would really surprise me me but maybe I am wrong?
Btw, Channel Classics and Pentatone used to record in dsd and originally sold only dsd files. But this has changed lately. I recently bought a recording from Channel Classics of Bartok’s string quartets by the (Dutch) Ragazze quartet in the original dxd format. I did the same with Pentatone’s recording of inter alia Bartok’s concerto for orchestra. In my set up I generally prefer original dxd recordings to original dsd recordings.
Btw, Channel Classics and Pentatone used to record in dsd and originally sold only dsd files. But this has changed lately. I recently bought a recording from Channel Classics of Bartok’s string quartets by the (Dutch) Ragazze quartet in the original dxd format. I did the same with Pentatone’s recording of inter alia Bartok’s concerto for orchestra. In my set up I generally prefer original dxd recordings to original dsd recordings.
Rudolf, i think this is a case of how one relates to the music. if your priority is hearing very familiar music just right, then your approach might still be correct. i'm guessing that on close review.......files, especially your files of very high resolution DXD and 4xdsd.......will be best. but yes, absolutely, streaming either Quboz or Tidal is really fine now with Level 4, and being able to explore and know that pretty much everything is going to sound superb, you can let it rip. and take off and go on a hunt for fun music.
but it does take an open eared approach and an individual choice to jump in.
agree that to my ears, the source format for those type recordings ends up sounding the best. but i've not added any really high rez files for awhile as streaming has just been so good, and i was also waiting for the 16tb SSD cards to give me more space for those big files. but it seems like those 16tb cards are not coming at all.
Isn’t this the core of what we all want? Your friends hit it right on the head it’s fun.I want to listen and enjoy my music all of my music and even music I have yet to find. Yes a Wadax is a Rolls, it’s big, it’s heavy, it’s a major financial investment but it’s simple to use , it’s fun and it sounds like and plays all the music.
For me that’s what I have always wanted
I don’t have loads of boxes and gizmos. My gear is plugged into a Qbase reference with a qcore 1. It sits on my stand with evp’s
It works and even my analog only clients that have sat in my room want it!
For me that’s what I have always wanted
I don’t have loads of boxes and gizmos. My gear is plugged into a Qbase reference with a qcore 1. It sits on my stand with evp’s
It works and even my analog only clients that have sat in my room want it!
been busy the last few days, listened as much as possible, but last night i spent some time doing some final listening to the system with the 3 Akasa DC cables installed......as this morning i did ship the 3 Akasa DC cables back to the dealer. i wanted a feel for the head to head with good/great vinyl on my system with the Akasa in and out of the system.
i did an A/B/A/C down and dirty compare. nothing rigorous. no ultimate truths, but hopefully useful anecdotical data points. did three different recordings. first "A" with the three Akasa DC cables now in the system for a week, then "B" high quality vinyl references, then back to "A", and then to "C" which was the same digital track with the stock DC cables back in the system. this whole process took a little more than an hour.
played all three tracks below, both on the CS Port/Etsuro Gold, and the Esoteric/DaVa
--Quartetto Italiano, Beethoven 'The Late Quartets, Philips Box Set, side 3, Opus 130 plus the same track from Tidal streaming in 16/44.
this vinyl (the whole Beethoven set from this string quartet) is a go-to for me and possibly my most played vinyl over the last 5-10 years. there was very little difference between the vinyl and the Akasa DC cable digital. maybe a slight nod to the vinyl in some respects, the digital in others. a degree and a half lower on the digital with the standard DC cables.
--Lee Morgan, "Search For A New Land", 45rpm track 1, Music Matters pressing, then 192/24 same track from a file on my server.
more clear nod to the vinyl here, more sparkle on the vinyl and more energy from the horns, a bit more impact from the transients. bass similar. again, the standard DC cables a cut below.
--Crosby, Stills and Nash, "Helplessly Hoping", 45rpm single sided 4 disc Classic Records, then 192/24 same track from my server.
here quite a large difference. OTOH this is a very special recording to me and this pressing kills it. i'm hard wired emotional to this music. since 1969 when i graduated from HS. the vinyl is on another different level. but the Akasa digital is wonderful. the standard DC cable digital less so.
the Akasa DC cable digital versions of the recordings are clearly closer to my significantly important vinyl version than the standard versions. and in one out of three essentially equal to the vinyl. these are three recordings i am emotionally attached to. and this helps me to sort out the hierarchy in my mind.
YMMV. just thought i would share my experience.
i did an A/B/A/C down and dirty compare. nothing rigorous. no ultimate truths, but hopefully useful anecdotical data points. did three different recordings. first "A" with the three Akasa DC cables now in the system for a week, then "B" high quality vinyl references, then back to "A", and then to "C" which was the same digital track with the stock DC cables back in the system. this whole process took a little more than an hour.
played all three tracks below, both on the CS Port/Etsuro Gold, and the Esoteric/DaVa
--Quartetto Italiano, Beethoven 'The Late Quartets, Philips Box Set, side 3, Opus 130 plus the same track from Tidal streaming in 16/44.
this vinyl (the whole Beethoven set from this string quartet) is a go-to for me and possibly my most played vinyl over the last 5-10 years. there was very little difference between the vinyl and the Akasa DC cable digital. maybe a slight nod to the vinyl in some respects, the digital in others. a degree and a half lower on the digital with the standard DC cables.
--Lee Morgan, "Search For A New Land", 45rpm track 1, Music Matters pressing, then 192/24 same track from a file on my server.
more clear nod to the vinyl here, more sparkle on the vinyl and more energy from the horns, a bit more impact from the transients. bass similar. again, the standard DC cables a cut below.
--Crosby, Stills and Nash, "Helplessly Hoping", 45rpm single sided 4 disc Classic Records, then 192/24 same track from my server.
here quite a large difference. OTOH this is a very special recording to me and this pressing kills it. i'm hard wired emotional to this music. since 1969 when i graduated from HS. the vinyl is on another different level. but the Akasa digital is wonderful. the standard DC cable digital less so.
the Akasa DC cable digital versions of the recordings are clearly closer to my significantly important vinyl version than the standard versions. and in one out of three essentially equal to the vinyl. these are three recordings i am emotionally attached to. and this helps me to sort out the hierarchy in my mind.
YMMV. just thought i would share my experience.
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after 4 days back with my standard DC cables, I am fully appreciating again what adding the power supply did! it's nothing I take for granted and Level 3 Wadax is awesome sounding.
but......no doubt.....i miss Level 4 and those Akasa DC cables. can't un-hear it. my dreams are now red tinged.
but......no doubt.....i miss Level 4 and those Akasa DC cables. can't un-hear it.
my dreams are now red tinged.Yep. Never listen if you're not willing to write the check....after 4 days back with my standard DC cables, I am fully appreciating again what adding the power supply did! it's nothing I take for granted and Level 3 Wadax is awesome sounding.
but......no doubt.....i miss Level 4 and those Akasa DC cables. can't un-hear it.
As I had explaining to Mike L. I neded the DC reference ( the Red) back as I had another client that wanted to hear them in his system. I installed them Friday afternoon and left hem for him to listen to over the weekend. He was inititally just crazy about what he heard and by Saturday morning he called me and ordered the 3 cables. I feel like a drug dealer having to go take them back from clients . LOL
I am happy however to reinstall them in my system.
I am happy however to reinstall them in my system.
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