wadia 781i vs dcs puccini

I owned the Wadia 581-SE and auditioned the 781i and the Puccini. I currently also own the DCS classic Verdi Encore & Elgar plus which sound much better to the Puccini IMO. Funny thing is, I found the 781i to be a bit softer sounding than the 581-SE. It lost the scale and resolution to the 581-Se.

The Emm Labs CDSA-SE ( latest version ) even in stock form IMO out class all of the players mentioned but my unit has been upgraded and is now the best sounding player I have heard to date regardless of price.

Hope this helps.

Flashunlock i was thinking that also about my wadia 781i. It is really soft in the low end. I was thinking of going with dcs puccini since it has a preamp feature like the wadia.

Usarmyvet91, You really need a good pre amp for either the Wadia and the DCS. I found running those two directly to power amps gave a thinner harsher sound.

I want to get one box unit, something that sound better in the bass than my wadia 781i. It has to have built in volume control. I have not listen to the dcs puccini if you have any suggestion let me know.

Do not sell your 781. Get an Elrod Statement II powercord for it. You are not really hearing the bottom end of the Wadia without a good powercord.

I think the bass is one of the many strengths of the Wadia.

What are your cables, speakers, and amplifier?

Rob