Wadax Studio Player Review
- Thread starter Jambo
- Start date
Amir,
Do you mean that the Wadex XLR polarity is like Japanese (pin 2 as "hot") products and not like in most American\European (pin 3 as "hot") products?
I mean AC cable polarity not xlr polarity.
The pin 2 "hot" and pin 3 "cold" convention was typically used by European and Japanese equipment manufacturers, but American companies used pin 3 "hot" and pin 2 "cold".
The XLR polarity is important to check before connecting but now most companies use pin 2 as “hot” .
Stereophonic, what software/firmware build is your SP running?
Unless you spliced 2 or more images together to produce the one above, my SP display looks distinctly different. Thanks.
Not certain what WADAX did with the Studio Player Version 75 software update but it is a demonstrable improvement over V66. The addition of my recently added bridged WestminsterLab Rei amps has made these changes more easy to hear and understand.
More to come on that, but the soundstage produced with V75 is more fleshed out on the periphery and now reaches further back into the corners of the room. The release of notes is more continuous and extended in time producing an even more immersive sound field. Recordings that contain harmonized overdubs are more clearly rendered in space, pitch and timbre.
Wow, this is an exceptional update as far as I can tell. Kudos once again to WADAX and their software team.
More to come on that, but the soundstage produced with V75 is more fleshed out on the periphery and now reaches further back into the corners of the room. The release of notes is more continuous and extended in time producing an even more immersive sound field. Recordings that contain harmonized overdubs are more clearly rendered in space, pitch and timbre.
Wow, this is an exceptional update as far as I can tell. Kudos once again to WADAX and their software team.
How good is the Wadax SP via streaming/ethernet direct (from router and controlled via phone app like Quobuz connect or Audirvana, etc.) vs. from a high end streamer/server or other black magic ethernet boxes (and which have you compared)?
And how would you rate the (digital or analog?) volume control vs. separate preamps (and which have you compared)?
Thank you for any comparisons you gents can share.
And how would you rate the (digital or analog?) volume control vs. separate preamps (and which have you compared)?
Thank you for any comparisons you gents can share.
I just did this update and honestly thought I imagined these improvements. It's good to know someone else is hearing the same things I am, I agree with your sonic impressions on all accounts. The sound has seem to have more solidity as well as more nuanced dimensionality, the sound field is more cohesive and material. The rightness of timing is also improved, it simply sounds more natural and complete.
I noticed this when both my preamp and amp were just turned on and stone cold, which is amazing since my last reference point was a fully warmed up system. I am looking forward to when they update the change log and share with us what they changed.
The Wadax SP's direct streaming is very very good. It responds very well to good ethernet infrastructure, good switches with good LPSUs as well as good ethernet cables. I had a top of line Innuos server in my system, it sounded better being fed from the server, especially when it's local files, but putting in an Innuos PhoenixNet in the place of the server made me not miss the server anymore. For reference I have a Reiki Switch Pro just upstream of the PhoenixNet, the two of them work very well together.
In short, the Wadax SP does not require a server.
divertiti, happy you are also enjoying V75. Nice to have a confirmation of what I am hearing.
Agree with divertiti, no server required with the SP. In my system, the WADAX SP replaced an Aurender N20/Esoteric K01XD combo. Another situation where the sonic advantages of the SP were a demonstrable improvement over the components it replaced. Using JPlay with the SP for streaming via Qobuz and from my QNAP NAS.
Thanks for this, mxk11g and divertiti. How about Ethernet VS spinning discs on the SP? Does this review align with your experience?
And, if you would be so good, how would you compare/contrast with your Esoteric, mxk116?
I really enjoy my N01xd SE fed via a good transport+clock or with USB via a custom PC, although not so much via ethernet, even with a full Network Acoustics system. I would like to reduce the sprawling box and cable count with either the Wadax SP or a Grandioso K1X SE or perhaps N1 + a CD transport. This seems a far better value vs adding a five figure streamer/server and endless black boxes to make streaming halfway as good as a spinning disc or even local file via simple USB.
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Thanks for the reminder, Socrates428. I intended to include the performance of the Studio Player’s CD/SACD optical transport in my previous reply but simply forgot. And thanks for sharing the review of the WADAX Studio Player on Audiodrom.net. I was not familiar with the review and I must say I agree with the review’s sentiment in general.
To put it simply, in my system, the sonic performance of the Studio Player as a CD/SACD transport playing optical discs does not match the ultimate fidelity and engagement of its streaming (Ethernet) functions (in my case Qobuz or music files streamed from the QNAP NAS). On the other hand, the performance of the Studio Player’s core competency, its extraordinary DAC, is so exceptional that it still exceeds the performance I was able to obtain from the Esoteric K-01XD.
Do I wonder how much incremental improvement could be available if the SP had a disc transport the caliber of the VRDS-ATLAS platform in the Grandioso P1X SE or K1X SE? As an intellectual exercise, yes and at what price? But that is not a thought process I spend much time contemplating because I’m too busy enjoying the music I am playing on the Studio Player.
If I we’re inclined to invest more into the Studio Player, I believe the investment would yield bigger dividends if spent on a Studio PSU or Studio Clock (or both. I know, don’t forget the Akasa DC Studio cables!)
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Thank you. Interesting! So you find streaming sounds better vs spinning discs? The Audiodrom.net reviewer, MJ, (who seems to like the Wadax over the Horizon or Kassandra Ref II in his system) suggests:
"How about the comparison CD vs SACD vs streaming...the SACD layer was better than the CD layer in dynamics, flow, and resolution, no surprise there. However, the CD layer outperformed both streaming services by a big margin, Qobuz being slightly more complete rendering of the track. It is consistent with what I use to hear with other digital players too...Now I will drop a bomb: for my ears, the Studio Player conquered the combination of the Taiko Olympus XDMI system with the Aries Cerat Kassandra DAC that I had in the exact same system. The latter is 2.5-times more expensive combo than the integrated Studio Player...."
With the Esoteric, Lampizator Poseidon, Mola Mola Tambaqui and other good dacs I've owned, I've found CD/transport source a clear leader, followed by local ripped files (native, uncompressed), USB, and then streaming via ethernet with an audiophile streamer (Innuos, Aurender, Small green computer, etc). These admittedly are not easy comparisons, and often I hear only small differences, and inconsistent differences, even, depending heavily on the source material.
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Not to contradict MJ, the Audiodrom.net reviewer, but with the Studio Player in my system, “spinning discs” are quite inconsistent in sonic performance compared to downloaded files or streaming. This was not the case when I had the Aurender N20 (connected via Shunyata Omega X USB)/Esoteric K01XD combo. Both SACD & CD performance was routinely superior to either streamed or stored music files. Occasionally, hi-res files would equal, or better, a disc in my collection, but that was a rare, and memorable, occurrence.
Since the arrival of the Studio Player, the performance of physical and digital media has been flipped on its head. I have not done a deep dive to ascertain why this is the case, but it’s not hard to imagine that I believe the design/performance of the WADAX DAC is the primary reason for the superiority of the digital sources, regardless of their format. I think the remarkable, imho, declaration by MJ in his review you quote above, that “the Studio Player conquered the combination of the Taiko Olympus XDMI system with the Aries Cerat Kassandra DAC that I had in the exact same system. The latter is 2.5-times more expensive combo than the integrated Studio Player...." supports the notion of how exceptional the SP DAC truly is.
I also must acknowledge that improvements (kudos to @Superdad Uptone Audio) I have made to the ethernet signal chain have been instrumental to the improvement in the sonic performance of digital media. What I did not anticipate were the audible improvements made by the most recent firmware update from WADAX. In my previous experience with software/firmware updates for digital sources (across numerous brands) nearly all had to do with functionality, not sonic performance.
On so many levels, the WADAX Studio Player has exceeded my expectations and surprises me with unanticipated benefits. As always, there’s the caveat “one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor,” but currently, I really like where I live.
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Great stuff, thanks again. Any chance you tried a clock (Mutec or others?) between the Wadax and Etherregen?
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