Digital Drive: REVIEW: Wadia Digital 581i SE CD Player/Recorder by Luminator

Model:	581i SE
Category:	CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price:	$11,450.00
Description:	Single-Box CD/SACD Player
Manufacturer URL:	Wadia Digital

Review by Luminator on December 02, 2008 at 10:44:25
IP Address: 66.47.253.226 Add Your Review
for the 581i SE

Wadia's website states that the 581i SE "keeps you up at night." Hell, it'll also keep you up during the day. You see, it has one of the slowest loading times I've ever encountered, easily on par with the shamefully slow Meridian G08. Heck, many DVD players are up and running faster than the 581i SE.

For many of you, this is a fatal flaw. If so, you don't need to read any further. Just thank me for eliminating the 581i SE from your consideration, and move on to the next candidate :-)

Those of you who follow or subscribe to my blog have already seen the review. Still, it's nice to have a neat summary of posts, so here they are:

Part 1 - packaging, accessories
Part 2 - dimensions, heat
Part 3 - rear panel, spikes
Part 4 - output voltage, display, load time
Part 5 - remote
Part 6 - powercords
Part 7 - interconnects, digital volume control

Before I took receipt of the unit, my colleagues had already been using the 581i SE for a number of weeks. They were running it directly into the Conrad-Johnson ET-250S, with a run of Nordost Odin in between. Wow. Wow. Because Wadia implemented the digital volume control nicely, it really takes a super transparent analog preamp to better the 581i SE's internal control. However, the stock 4.25V output, even with the 50dB volume control range, is too high for this purpose. Have your dealer lower it.

As for burn-in, I'd estimate that it took 4 weeks of continuous playing time, before the 581i SE reached what we would consider its running speed. Right out of the box, it sounded small, uptight, and grainy, kind of like Terry Date's productions on Overkill and Pantera albums.

We know that the 581i SE's internal DAC section is excellent. We fed it with audio from satellite TV, a CAL Delta, the EAR Acute's transport, and the Mark Levinson No. 390S' transport. On one hand, the 581i SE's DAC showed up the differences between these digital sources. Yet, even the most "low-fi" sources benefited from the 581i SE's resolution, focus, and resistance to adding more hash or clouds to the proceedings. I will leave it to others, to see how good the 581i SE's DAC can be, when fed computer-based audio.

For 44.1k and 48k sources, you have a choice of Algorithm A, B, or C. Even with Nordost Odin, we had a hard time pinning down a consistent and large enough difference among the three. Most of the time, we didn't even know which Algorithm was in use. If you end up with a clear preference, more power to you.

If you have a hybrid SACD, you cannot switch layers on the fly. You have to stop the disc, switch layers, then play again. With the few hybrid SACDs we had, the SACD layer feels less forced, more liquid. Images are also larger, yet not blurry or diffuse.

But hey, hardly anyone has SACDs, and most users will need the 581i SE for its Redbook CD performance. And here, it is excellent, falling into the just-read-what's-on-the-disc camp. It is refreshingly honest. You will finally unlock all of the detail the CD is capable of.

My xanga blog is great for keying in on one product. But it does not lend itself easily to comparisons. So, on these pages in Audio Asylum, I shall post again, stating how the 581i SE compared to others of its ilk.

-Lummy The Seahorse

Product Weakness:	excessively slow loading time; bulk; tiny display; not enough front panel controls; reacts slowly to remote; even with the silver finish, this isn't a pretty-looking unit
Product Strengths:	has all four time modes; honest sound quality; excellent build quality; dealer can lower the output; no gross noises or heat

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Conrad-Johnson ET-250S; Jeff Rowland 501; Mark Levinson No. 431; Simaudio W-7 & 8
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Jeff Rowland Capri; Mark Levinson No. 326S; Simaudio P-8
Sources (CDP/Turntable): dCS Puccini; EAR Acute; Simaudio Andromeda
Speakers: Totem The One
Cables/Interconnects: Nordost Odin; Wireworld Platinum Eclipse; XLO Limited Edition
Music Used (Genre/Selections): rock, pop, metal, Hawaiian, dance
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 months
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Conrad-Johnson ET-250S; Jeff Rowland 501; Mark Levinson No. 431; Simaudio W-7 & 8
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Jeff Rowland Capri; Mark Levinson No. 326S; Simaudio P-8
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	dCS Puccini; EAR Acute; Simaudio Andromeda
Speakers:	Totem The One
Cables/Interconnects:	Nordost Odin; Wireworld Platinum Eclipse; XLO Limited Edition
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	rock, pop, metal, Hawaiian, dance
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 months
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner