Review: Great Northern Sound Co. Wadia 860 CD Player

I can second your reccommendation of Steve Huntley and GNS on yet another front: Steve was also employed by ARC for some years before moving over to Wadia. GNS also does extensive upgrading to many ARC components. I sent my ARC LS-2B pre-amp in to Steve for his "Standard" level upgrade (a "Reference" level is also available). I was delighted with the sound when it was returned but always wondered about my judgement being impaired by the lack of anything else to compare it to, the time that had passed since I last heard it, and the mind-games we all play when we've invested money into an improvement like that. Well, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to A/B my modified LS-2B with a bone-stock LS-2B my friend uses in his system. We used a matched pair of Telefunken 6922's (actually these ones were made by Mullard). We were doing the comparison at my friends place and his system is all high-end Levinsion gear, great IC's, PC's and NHT 3.3's in a nice listening room. Guess what? No mind games here! Both of us immediately noted the improvements...it wasn't just subtle either. The most immediate differences were in clarity and focus (both improved with the GNS modified pre). Soundstage was marginally wider with the GNS mod. Overall it was $750 very well spent in both of our opinions. Steve was very straight foward to deal with (easier to reach on the phone than by email, though he did respond both ways). Turnaround was a bit slow, but they did warn me they were backed up at the time. Still, I don't think it was more than 3-weeks. Definitely reccommended!

http://www.greatnorthernsound.com

Give that player 4 months of constant use and then you will here what the new player really sounds like. The mods are definitely worth it if you are a Wadia fan like me.

Have fun!

I have an all Audio Research system, all of which (with the
exception of the CD-2) have been modified by Steve. The results (which has taken some patience) have been dramatic.
I truly believe that it is possible to turn a good system
into a great one for a reasonable investment. Pure Alchemy!

I agree with all of the wonderful things mentioned about Steve Huntley. He recently modified my 861 to his Statement Level and the result was spectaculiar! Steve was very patient with my many questions and he went out of his way to ship me the player at a requested date.
Jim

I bought the Wadia 15i dac from Steve and then purchased the 8 transport on Audiogon.I then tried the Virtual Dynamics power cords and was blown away by the changes to the Wadias.I had kept up a good repetoire with Steve( very honest and forthright about equipment)and agreed to update both pieces.He treated both pieces for vibration and updated caps and power supplies including a new super clock on the tranport.Steve also stocks the finest glass optical cable called Aural Symphonics optism(the change in time and space with this cable has to be heard to believed).Well after 200hours the Wadias are huge in every way, the dynamics are staggering from top to bottom as well as the space of each recording.The inner detail is breathtaking as well as the resolution,when you can hear autos outside of the halls (Fairfield four,Merury-Pictures at an exhibition)something special is happening.If you own a stock Wadia you have't heard half of what it is capable of, these mods bring you to the forefront of musicality and resolution( Wadia's technology is yet to be matched in a complete package). The overall results allow me to focus on buying new music, and letting me forget about the latest and greatest technology coming down the pike.In my humble opinion these mods are worthy of serious consideration if you own Wadia gear and want to hear what it is truly capable of.Steve is a true craftsmen, knowing his trade in a very finite way, that allows the music to speak for him.

I have had a whole series of equipment modified by Steve. He is very knowledgable and exceedingly honest. I highly recommend his service.

good to read this! I, too, have a Wadia 860 (upgraded to an 861 now) that I am considering to send to Steve for a further upgrade.

Bombaywalla: I bought a Wadia 861 basic about a year and a half ago, and, after a lot of thought, I decided to take the plunge and send it to Steve for the Reference upgrade. I just got it back a few days ago, so it's not even close to being burned in, but I already know that it was money well spent. I can't say enough good things about my experience with Steve and the improvements the upgrade has already made to an already fine CD player.

I can also confirm that Steve Huntley provides quality mods, and is a pleasure to work with, having had him upgrade my Wadia 861 twice -- once with his Statement mod, and a second time with the SE transport. Each mod added significant improvement over the stock player.

I think you guys should ask Steve what he thinks of the Master series power cables from Virtual Dynamics.I keep trying to convince these dedicated Wadia owners to at least try them. I have a Revelation power cord that is totally off the wall with my dac 15i.I am getting dynamics and soundstaging that I didn't know was possible with 32x oversampling. My friend also owns the Revelation and a Wadia 2000s as well as a 27 ( all moded by Gnsc)and a Sim audio w5 LE. Both of us are awestruck at the level of detail and naturalness that the VD wire is able to convey as music. There are other tweaks that we have found but that may be for a future thread.Take care Dennis

13.09.2005.

Review of the Wadia 861B - CD Player - Basic - SILVER

Serial Number :- 086 130 0343

Purchased on :- 10.01.2004

Purchased from :- Nova Audio - India - Sushil Anand

Price Paid :- US $'s 6,000/-

A] Music

M.A. Recordings - Begona Olavide / Mudejar MA042A
Water Lily Acoustics - Tabula Rasa WLA-CS-44-CD
ECM Records – Making Music / Zakir Hussain ECM – 1349
Moment Records – Ustad Sultan Khan MRCD – 1006
Reference Recordings – TUTTI ! RR-906CD
Telarc – A tribute to Oscar Peterson CD – 83401
Chesky Records – The Raven / Rebecca Pidgeon JD 115
Mercury – Essential / Yello 512 390 – 2

Mazher Bashir JAFFAR

13th September, 2005.

Mumbai - Bombay - INDIA

e-mail :- schwinn@mtnl.net.in

www.schwinnaudio.com

Strengths:
Build Quality
Looks - asthetically very pleasing
Transport - TEAC CMK 3.2 - VRDS

Weaknesses:
Not Transparent
Poor Dynamics
Poor IR Remote Control
Poor Display
Very 'Digital Sounding' - Edgy - COLD

Similar Products Used:
SIMAUDIO MOON ECLIPSE CD PLAYER - SerialNumber A-211294-CD
ELECTROCOMPANIET EMC-1 24/192 CD PLAYER - Serial Number 01334]
AUDIOMECA MEPHISTO II CD TRANSPORT - Serial Number 2001045
AUDIOMECA ENKIANTUS 24/192 DAC - Serial Number 2001073
METRONOME T1A MK II TRANSPORT + UP SAMPLER
METRONOME C1A MK III TUBE 24/192 DAC
THE GRYPHON ADAGIO CD PLAYER - Serial # 0401111
CAMELOT TECHNOLOGY MERLIN PRO CD TRANSPORT - Serial # 301209
CAMELOT TECHNOLOGY DRAGON 5.1 PLUS JITTER REDUCER - Serial # 103584
CAMELOT TECHNOLOGY UTHER D/A CONVERTOR v2 Mk5 - Serial # 501202

LIST OF AUDIO GEAR OWNED AND USED :-

SIMAUDIO MOON ECLIPSE CD PLAYER - SerialNumber A-211294-CD
SIMAUDIO P-5 PRE AMPLIFIER Serial Number A-081291-PRE
ELECTROCOMPANIET EMC-1 24/192 CD PLAYER Serial Number 01334
AUDIOMECA MEPHISTO II CD TRANSPORT Serial Number 2001045
AUDIOMECA ENKIANTUS 24/192 DAC Serial Number 2001073
METRONOME T1A MK II TRANSPORT + UP SAMPLER
METRONOME C1A MK III TUBE 24/192 DAC
WADIA 861-B CD PLAYER Serial # 086 130 0343
BRYSTON BP-25 PRE AMPLIFIER Serial Number 251744
BRYSTON 7B ST POWER AMPLIFIER Serial Number 773775 & 773793
PASS LABS X-1 PRE AMPLIFIER Serial Number 010388
DYNAUDIO CONFIDENCE 5 SPEAKERS Serial Number 729879 & 729990
VdH THE SECOND BALANCED INTERCONNECTS 1M
VdH THE FIRST ULTIMATE UNBALANCED INTERCONNECTS 1M
VdH THE REVELATION SPEAKER CABLE 3M
VdH THE MAINSTREAM HYBRID POWER CABLE 2M
XLO ELECTRIC TYPE 4.1B AES/EBU DIGITAL INTERCONNECT CABLE 1M
THE GRYPHON ADAGIO CD PLAYER Serial # 0401111
THE GRYPHON SONATA ALLEGRO PRE AMPLIFIER Serial # 8890099
THE GRYPHON ANTILION STEREO SIGNATURE POWER AMPLIFIER Serial # 118
CAMELOT TECHNOLOGY MERLIN PRO CD TRANSPORT [Serial # 301209
CAMELOT TECHNOLOGY DRAGON 5.1 PLUS JITTER REDUCER Serial # 103584
CAMELOT TECHNOLOGY UTHER D/A CONVERTOR v2 Mk5 Serial # 501202
THE GRYPHON GUIDELINE REFERENCE BALANCED INTERCONNECT 1M
THE GRYPHON PSC REFERENCE SPEAKER CABLE 2M
THE ARGENTO VDM MASTER REFERENCE XLR BALANCED INTERCONNECT 1M & 1.5M
THE ARGENTO VDM REFERENCE SPEAKER CABLE 3M
WIREWORLD SUPER ECLIPSE 5 XLR BALANCED & RCA UNBALANCED INTERCONNECT - 1M
JORMA DESIGN JPC 2.5 POWER CABLE - SWEDEN - 2M - ALL ELECTRONICS
DC-CABLE TAIWAN POWER CABLES - CUSTOM TERMINATION Front End Electronics - Digital

I had GNSC mod my Wadia 20 a few years ago, and I have never regretted it.

As for the break in: You can leave a CD in it on repete 24/7 when you're not listening to it. Your DAC doesn't need to be on. You might also want to re-audition power cords once it finally settles in.

John C.