I've had some experience with the
Wadia 170 iTransport, but not nearly as much time as I wanted, as Wadia only had a few prototype units for a while, and those few units were in demand by reviewer-types, distributors, dealers, etc.--so I had just several days with it. The time I did spend with the iTransport, however--both
at CES and at home--was enough to convince me that it's one of the most significant audiophile products to be released in a while, particularly because hi-fi's
death-by-iPod has been predicted by audio enthusiasts since around the time that the iPod became Windows-friendly (which is when its sales went ballistic, and changed the way the world listens to music).
Since returning that early prototype, it has been a painful wait (if you're an audio enthusiast with an iPod, once you use an iTransport, you
need one), but I received the call from Wadia yesterday that the final beta units arrived. And, just as before with the early prototypes, I didn't wait even 24 hours before I trucked on over to Wadia to pick it up (that Wadia is within easy driving distance has proven to be a big audiophile blessing for me). I'm at work right now (well, working from Starbucks anyway), and don't have a DAC with me; but I'm dying to get home to use this final beta unit with the MSB Gold Link III / PowerBase. Yes, I have the grueling task of listening to music I love, to help evaluate this final iTransport beta run.
I'll say more about this near-production Wadia 170 iTransport soon, after I've had a chance to actually listen to it. In the meantime, here are some photos (that I snapped right at Wadia's headquarters) of the final beta unit they're letting me use:
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The Wadia 170 iTransport beta, wrapped up in bubble wrap.
The Wadia 170 iTransport, sitting atop a larger Wadia piece.
A groovy shot of the Wadia iTransport, showing its cool pointed feet.
The back panel of the Wadia 170 iTransport, showing the various connectors. It's that one labeled “Digital Output” that's of the most importance to me--from there, I will feed nice outboard DACs bit-perfect, lossless recordings from my iPod Classic 160.
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