Wadia 170 iTransport - review - owners

[matengawhat]

"The 170 doesn’t turn the iPod into a high-end source, but it does produce the best sound we’ve heard from an iPod dock. If that’s for you, start saving."

How does this compare soundwise to sending applelossless wirelessly to a squeeze box classic if connected to the same dac?

also can this display coverflow on a tv and allow you to use the remote to cycle through albums?

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure about the artwork, but by definition it will sound identical to the Squeezebox. All both have to do is convert ALAC to PCM.

 

[matengawhat]

from what i have read the wadia can't display cover flow - can anyone confirm if this when connected to a tv outputs any menu images whilst playing music

 

[manicm]

matengawhat:from what i have read the wadia can't display cover flow - can anyone confirm if this when connected to a tv outputs any menu images whilst playing music

The Wadia does not display any music info through the TV. And for music playback Wadia don't recommend Cover Flow as it is OS heavy and can affect playback.

 

[matengawhat]

thanks manicm read that yesterday - shame really as would have been nice - orderd anyway and arrives tomorrow so will soon know

 

[matengawhat]

well it arrived as promised and have had it wired up for about two hours now - initial impressions are that its lighter than it looks - i know that sounds strange but i expected there to be more weight to it from the pics - also the surfaces are rough - looks very smart though once set up and ipod inserted - the connections on the back in my opinion are a little flimsy one of those your scared to push everything in to hard in case you break it but thats prob overly critical as sure no worse than what i remember from budget cdps etc - connection are simple one wire for mains one for digital cable to dac and thats it - connected up my ipod classic with all tracks ripped as applelossless - the ipod once docked displays whats playing and you have full control over the ipods functions using the click wheel and the remote that comes with it must have been an after thought - skip tracks, play/pause buttons and mode to switch to analogue outs - pretty cheap.

ok now for the good bit - the sound - i am very impressed so far - not done any back to back listening tests yet as would be slightly unfair as don't have two identical digital cables but will borrow a matching set shortly and compare - but everything seems strong - midrange and bass neither dominent and music presented with a sense of pace and space - i would even go as far as to say that some rock tracks that my system sometimes sounding a little forward with seems to have mellowed and for some reason sound a little more exciting not sure if that possible but thats how i feel - my main cdp system can sometimes sound a little too focussed/analytical

so nice to just kick shuffle on and hear tracks not heard in ages - i also like the fact that i don't have to turn the pc on for it to work - something that bugged me with the squeezebox which didn't get used as much as it should

 

[manicm]

That's great Matenga, which iPod are you using?

 

[matengawhat]

160 gb classic that i'm still filling as don't have the patience to sit in front of i tunes for hours loading up my cds

first time i have trully thought the ipod is a proper piece of hi fi

 

[John Duncan]

matengawhat:first time i have trully thought the ipod is a proper piece of hi fi

Joeljoeljoel

 

[matengawhat]

no really - i always considered it as a product of conveniance/easy way to carry music around rather than anything more but now taking pride of place in my lounge with the rest of my kit

 

[crusaderlord]

i use an Arcam r-dock in a similar fashion to stream internet music such as radio paradise or i-player through my hi-fi and this at the moment prevents the need for squeezebox or pc streaming

again it is more convenience here as well - my cd player is my main source and will remain so but the dock prevents the need for a tuner and sound is good but doesnt compete with the cd

i would quite like to demo the wadia to see if it lifts the sound performance much over the highly rated Arcam dock

 

[John Duncan]

Or you can get an apple TV (which is basically a non-portable iPod with a digital out), and which is faaaaaaaaabulous...