Sound Quality of Wadia 381i vs stand alone USB DACs such as Ayre, Wavenlength, ARC, etc

[jconnelly]

Does anyone have any experience comparing a Macbook server thru the USB input of one of the Wadia "i" players like the 381i, compared to thru good quality standalone DACs like Ayre QB9, Wavelength Cosecant, ARC DAC8, etc? I know that Wadia CD players are very good but was wondering if their USB implementation has the same level of sound quality.

 

[GoldenEar]

In your case I would try a good USB/SPDIF converter. The sound of the Wadia will be hard to beat by one of the standard DACs. On the other hand, if you are striving for high-res files, you will probably need another DAC.