Wadia Voltage Conversion

Just thought I'd post up a thread to let you guys know of my experiences regarding getting my Wadia CDP converted from US 110V to UK 230V input voltage spec.

As some of you will know, I privately purchased and imported a used Wadia 850 from Canada last year from a seller on Audiogon. Since then I've been using the 850 with a step-down transformer. Now while this has worked fine and was most certainly a major upgrade on the CD playing kit I had before the Wadia, I've always had this nagging doubt about using the step-down transformer whether it was causing any degradation in ultimate sound quality. Well, if you're the sort of person who worries about the sonic properties imparted by mains cables attached to equipment, then it's only natural of course.

I'd been made aware through conversations with other forum members that Wadia in the US won't deal direct with end-users i.e. they won't supply parts unless it's through one their recognised distributors or dealers. So in January of this year I made initial contact with The Musical Design Company (MDC) who are the UK appointed distributor for Wadia products about the possibility of getting my 850 CDP converted from US to UK voltage spec.

Well, after a 2 and a half month delay I was eventually informed by MDC that Wadia had finally located the necessary parts for the conversion and were shipping them over to the UK. Last week I arranged to have the retrofit of the parts to be performed by MDC. They arranged for the player to be picked-up and dropped after by courier as part of their service. So, I arranged for pick-up last Wednesday. Player was with MDC the following day on Thursday, they installed the bits and soak tested, player was dispatched on Friday afternoon and arrived back with me today. Not a bad turnaround time at all really, the only delay was the fact that the player had to sit in a courier depot (Citylink) over the weekend, but luckily no harm came to the player during transit.

The player has only been plugged in and playing for just a little over 2 hours so far, so too early to write a before and after review, as most Wadia owners will attest, they take ages to warm up after being powered down for more than a few hours. Initial impressions are that it's just a smidgen more coherent, bass a bit tighter and perhaps deeper and there's a bit less splashiness to the top end (not that the top end was splashy before anyway going by the standards set by most other CDPs).

Total cost was £170 (inclusive of VAT and shipping). There turned out to be 2 parts to the retrofit. First of all, the part of the player which was going to be needed to changed over regardless was the IEC input socket on the back of the player. Now this is where in my suspiciously suspecting opinion Wadia have been intentionally cunning in that there is a (Shaffner) mains filter module which is an integral part of the inlet socket, this is a custom part which only appears to be available from Wadia. So make your own minds up about the conspiracy theory there! Anyway, the initial charge I was quoted was £150 for parts and labour for the IEC/Shaffner filter part change over. £10 for initial collection and post job drop-off. Oh and the other £10 of the final balance, well it was supposed to be £20 but I got that knocked off as an apology for the initial delay - that was for a new mains transformer which had to be fitted as well (from what I understand mine was a slightly earlier production 850 so needed the tranny replaced/upgraded, the newer/upgraded transformers were fitted to 850's that came off the production line later on).

MDC inform me that they find it quite difficult sourcing replacement parts from Wadia for out of production products, although I can't see that the 230V IEC/Shaffner module would be any different on more recent Wadia CDP models.

I did also try to see if I could get hold of the optional digital i/o board that was available for the 850 so that I could use my player as a DAC for my DAB tuner, but gave up as Wadia weren't giving any indications if they could source that part or not after 2 months. So just be warned if you plan on doing somethiing similar. I can't speak for other models of Wadia equipment as this is the only successful US to UK voltage conversion that I'm aware of so far. I've also spoken to a few you guys who say that MDC don't even respond to emails with requests similar to mine. As you can see, it's not impossible to get a piece of Wadia kit officially converted to UK spec, but I did almost give up at one point and think about ditching the 850 for a UK located 230V Wadia 16i that I'd seen advertised just recently.

 

Just one question.
Do you believe that the £170 was worth the money in sound quality improvements?

 

l reckon the £170 is worth it for improved resale alone, if its improved the SQ even only slightly then its money well spent IMO.

 

Yes, that's a good point, genuine 220/230V Wadia products do generally seem to be very thin on the ground and the demand is there for the right model. Although most people will be wanting to go for an 860 or 861 I'd guess. I prefered the 850 because it can be had for a lot less money than the other two and still gives a very good performance for the money. Mind you, I'm planning on having the 850 tweaked at a later date, so that will probably cancel out the resale value gained from having it converted. Not that I've got any plans to sell.

Was it worth the money? Well, the short answer is yes!! I've had the player going all day and it appears to be settling back in nicely. I'm sure there's a bit more settling down to do, but yes, what I currently have now is a significant improvement on what I had before the player went away and that's what makes it worth the money.

One of the things that's surprising me at the moment is the enlargement of the sweetspot. My seating position on the sofa is now a lot less critical than before, it's possible to get a very coherent and impression of a large sound stage without wearing too much of a neck brace. Bass is noticeably tighter and firmer than before, and melds together so much better to the rest of the frequencies/music than before. Everything is generally much bigger, open and yet cohesive. The potential of the player was really being stunted by using a step-down transformer.

Was it worth the money in general. Well, the replacement parts didn't cost anywhere near £170. I did kick myself somewhat as at the time I finalised the transaction on the 850, I saw one for sale in this country (it would have been as near as equivalent to what I've spent to date moneywise) so had I had my time over again I'd have gone with the other one to save the too-ing and fro-ing.

 

Henry,

 

Henry (or indeed anyone),

I'm shortly going to take delivery of a 120V DAC and whilst at some stage I'll probably try and have it converted to 220V, IYE any recommendations re step-down transformer?

 

Hi Jeff,

Not road tested or know of any step down transformers which have audiophile crudentials (although I believe Trichord do a made to order version upon request of their Powerblock which also does step down).

The step down transformer I was using with the Wadia, and now with my newly acquired Bel Canto Pre1 (until it gets converted for use on 240V) was a cheap £20 affair from TLC:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SC5328.html

Suitable for low current draw devices and also good if you want to use mains leads with US style plugs.

 

Henry,

Nice one, thanks

Jeff

 

Badchamp - There is one step down available, with audiophile credentials which would suit your DAC down to the ground as it's specifically made for front end digital components. Its the Ben Duncan Matilda. I bought mine from British Hifi Online who own the rights to Ben Duncan now. They were really helpful and explained the differences between a proper Isolation Transformer with Step Down capibilities, which is what the Matilda is and the cheapo Ebay £20 voltage convertors. Using something like the Matilda has the added advantage of offering all the benefits an isolation transformer offers aswell as the step down requirement you're after.

HenryT - I'm not surprised you noticed an improvement, as the thingy you were using to alter the voltage probably caused your Wadia to bulk everytime you switched on!

Rgds JTB

 

Jackthebiscuit,

Thanks for the suggestion.

The Ben Duncan Matilda doesn't seem to currently (no pun intended ) listed but at £300 plus it's quite expensive. I suppose I'm only really looking for something in the short to medium term pending intended conversion of the DAC to 220V - which I would think would come in at a lot less than the Matilda equivalent. Take your point about the isolation transformation point though. Will have to have a look at the thing when it arrives.

Also could you expand a bit on the "bulk"ing point for me please

Jeff

 

Jeff,

You'd only need the 150VA version for the DAC and with the step down feature, plus the 10% discount they give all new customers, you'd pay £207.

Bulk should have been balk!

Rgds
JTB

 

With apologies to Henry for kinda hijacking his thread but I today spoke to the designer of my US voltage DAC about converting it to UK voltage. His response was "why would you want to do that ?". In his opinion using a 100 VA transformer would be fine! Conversion would involve replacing 3 transformers (apparently).