This is actually Wadia's 'budget' offering, a cost-down version of its 581se CD/SACD player. The 381i doesn't play SACDs. It's a CD-only machine. Wadia's disc spinners also come in 'i' versions that include digital inputs and outputs. An 'i' player can form the heart of your system: you can use its DACs to decode any other digital sources you may have.rnConversion software features the company's DigiMaster v2.5 upsampling algorithm, with arn1.4112MHz data rate (32×44.1 kHz) and a claimed resolution of 21 bits. Three filters ('algorithms') Wadia says can be used 'to optimise the sonic performance based on system matching and personal musical priorities': A 'robust, with extraordinary image focus'; B 'providing a more extended top end'; and C 'giving 'a more relaxed presentation'. We spent a whole evening trying these options. It proved hard to choose between them, as preferences tended to be determined by individual recordings, as noted later.
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