Wadia 381i CD Player

It’s been over seven years since AudioEnz reviewed the mighty Wadia 861 CD Player, a machine that redefined how good the compact audio disc could sound. Now we have the latest entry-level offering from Wadia. And what a machine it is.

Though the 381i shares the same carved-from-solid, monolithic look of the old top-of-the-line 861, in basic form it is now the entry-point to the Wadia CD player range. The “i” in the model name means this model is fitted with digital input/output boards (a $3,000 option). Gone (but not forgotten as we shall see later) is the smaller 300-series that used to be the Wadia starting point.

The outside is timeless Wadia.

• Upright and square-jawed. Panels wrought from thick slabs of real metal.
• Four mighty towers of support, atop shapely coned feet and matching support discs.
• The traditional blue display panel peering forth a fascia of five small multi-purpose buttons and a slim disc tray. Simply beautiful and beautifully simple.

Swing around to the rear and we find the main power on/off switch, an IEC mains connector plus single-ended and balanced analogue outputs. The “i” model designation means this player is fitted with digital input/output boards providing a selection of digital outputs (ST glass optical, XLR AES/EBU, BNC S/PDIF, Toslink optical) and inputs (XLR AES/EBU, BNC S/PDIF, Toslink optical and in keeping with the times, a USB input). The latter formally acknowledging the increasing trend of listeners using non-physical digital media.

Recently this has become a critical factor in the buying decision for many music lovers who seek the same high quality playback quality from their digital files as they get from their physical discs. Coupled with the 381i’s digital volume control and you have a multi-input digital preamplifier.

Wadia’s all metal remote control has been slimmed down to comfortably fit in one hand and has gained a rubberised underlay for support and to avoid damaging the surface it’s placed on.

With TEAC no longer supplying transport mechanisms, Wadia entered a joint venture with Austrian company Stream Unlimited to build a bespoke transport specifically for Wadia CD players. The result was a transport that is said to outperform the old TEACs.

A good transport is only half the solution, for software is arguably even more important to great digital playback and Wadia doesn’t disappoint. The 381i is chock full of proprietary technology like ClockLink ™ jitter reduction, SwiftCurrent™ 3 current to voltage technology and the latest version of Wadia’s famed DigiMaster™ decoding algorithm. Add some tasty 96kHz/24-bit DACs, a 1411.2kHz sampling rate and you have enough firepower to get the best out of Redbook CD and for the first time in a Wadia, MP3, FLAC and WMA formats.

The 381i not only has a big footprint but it’s also a hefty 25kg so no lightweight wobbly coffee tables please. The 381i ended up on my 30kg sand filled, hardwood isolation platform. In use the new transport is every bit as efficient as the previous TEAC; loading is fast, as is track access. But it’s also much noisier and the tray action is not as smooth nor is it as nicely made. The disc indent is particularly shallow so the CD must be placed exactly in the cut-out or you risk jamming the tray.

Setting the 381i up revealed a problem with the well-travelled demo 381i, the input selector was inoperative meaning it was impossible to select an external input. This limited listening to physical media, namely CD and compilation discs with a selection of tracks in MP3, FLAC and WMA formats. The importer suggested a future follow-up with a fully functional unit to explore the digital input options.

The main listening sessions were conducted with the 381i connected to my Krell/Magnepan system via the balanced connections mainly for convenience, there was little consistent difference between balanced and single-ended; and with an active preamp stage in circuit; direct connection to the amplifier produced greater immediacy at the expense of a slightly cooler, less mellifluous performance. As with previous Wadia, the default decoding Algorithm A produced the best balance in my system.

The old 861 was a hugely capable CDP, able to reproduce the finest nuances on a CD with tremendous fidelity but on occasion could be a little relentless and ultimately a little fatiguing to listen to. The cheaper 302 performed almost as well but was more forgiving and beguiling.

The 381i marries the best of both players. Performers and instruments are realistically sized, anchored in a real space with all the detail, dynamic punch, vibrancy and gravitas of the real thing. The bass response goes through the floor; the midrange is silky smooth and life-like. The only audible blemish is the usual Wadia dip in high frequency response. This makes for a forgiving disposition but brings a slight darkness and diminished sense of openness in the highs. Otherwise, the Wadia plays no favourites, all music is superbly reproduced. A big surprise was how good digital files could sound, especially my collection of lossless FLACs off CDR. Even much despised MP3’s (high bitrate of course) were rendered listenable.

Seventeen thousand dollars is a lot of money but deconstruct the Wadia into its constituent parts and it’s something of a bargain. You get an excellent CD player, digital preamplifier and a versatile DAC in one box that handles both physical and digital media. This could be the last digital player you ever need to buy.

Wadia 381i $16,999