I doubt there are many who will disagree with Wadia being among the major digital audio manufacturers. If not for the quality of their products, at least because they are keen to implement new ideas.
Wadia was the first company that tried digital filters running on general purpose processors. They did that in their very first product, the Wadia 2000 and the result was a real classic. This first product marked the birth of the term “Decoding Computer” which is -still- in use. The company, based on an open architecture (a choice of many top manufacturers today), researched the topic of digital audio in different directions often with very interesting results. They offered “slow” filters, discussed openly the issue of jitter and, long before the idea of the docking station became a commodity, introduced the first interface that had permission from Apple to “pull” digital signal from the iPod.

It is a sign of the times perhaps that, after all, the company did not escape the usual pathway of the acquisition and integration under a common corporate umbrella, but if this development offers the opportunity to continue as before, I do not think anyone will resent it. The 121 reviewed here is one of the four products that Wadia offers today and its target market is clear: All those looking for a DAC/Headphone amplifier suitable for streaming via USB and able to serve as an elementary preamplifier for digital sources. Radical ? Not at all. Interesting? Yeah, considering Wadia's fame.

Dimitris Stamatakos

Text Data
Original Publilcation: 2013/09/03	Last Follow Up: 2013/09/03	Original Language: Greek (Translated)

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