581ise – Takes the Stage
Uday Reddy: SoundStage
December 2008
“The Wadia 581ise uses a number of proprietary innovations, including updated versions of Wadia’s renowned DigiMaster decoding and upsampling software (no off-the-shelf DACs for Wadia), RocLock and Clocklink jitter-reduction technology, and Swift-Current zero-feedback current-to-voltage converter.”
“The first thing I noticed was the midbass reproduction, particularly the reproduction of the kick drum, which was tight and focused via the 581ise. The overall sound was smooth, with no evidence of any digital artifacts — a good start.”
“In addition to the expansion of the soundstage and realistic re-creation of the venue, the 581ise excelled at conveying the dynamic contrasts and forceful impact that make symphonic music so engaging.”
“With SACD, digital reproduction has advanced to the point that many of the complaints about it have been resolved, and the 581ise handles SACD beautifully. However, the 581ise is worth its price for its reproduction of music on CD alone. The rest is just gravy on top of an already outstanding meal.”