Review:                                                                                                                                   

Most would not consider a CD player a vital component of a sound system in this day of age. I-Pods and music servers have taken over the digital music storage realm yet many people have amassed large CD collections and the need for a superb Playback device are still there.  

 The new Special Edition Wadia 581se CD players is in my opinion the most innovative player with circuit topologies that cannot be reviled.

Building on the Wadia legacy, proven and new technologies are combined in a way that can only be described as innovative.  

Tradition Meets Innovation

Wadia SwiftCurrent™ 3 Discreet (SC-3D), developed for the special edition and reference products is now incorporated.  The latest version of the superior current to voltage (I/V) conversion technology has been added into the classic Wadia one box solution. Current exiting the D>A converters is optimally loaded, in turn allowing each DAC to remain linear. Current is then mirrored and driven with a zero global feed back Class A throughput stage. The output feeds directly into a phase accurate filter that simultaneously creates voltage and removes unwanted high frequency noise. The SC-3D generates 3 independent data streams that drive both the balanced and unbalanced legs of the output stage. A quieter blacker background ensures holographic images will appear,  or in other words the sound stage will be rendered in … 3-D.  

Pure Power

The 581se CD Player features two new fully balanced shielded toroidal transformers that are electrically, mechanically, and acoustically isolated from other components. New inductor filtering has been added to the digital supply ensuring smooth charging of capacitors and eliminating noise spikes from the ground plain. There is a fully regulated separate power supply for digital processing, clocking, D>A conversion, and the output stage. Every performance component is powered by regulated isolated power traces. The result – quiet pure power with lightning speed allowing instantaneous reproduction of transient information.

By the Numbers

A Multi-Format Disc Mechanism modified to allow ClockLink™ jitter reduction and pure data capture, this new multi-format mechanism provides state-of-the-art audio information extraction. Patent worthy technologies ensure that data is accurately captured from audio discs regardless of format. The mechanism is further enhanced by a custom mounting and enclosure system that provides both mechanical and electrical isolation. The result, performance surpassing even the highly acclaimed transports featured in previous players.