I've run my Wadia 861 with an NBS Signature II power cord for about a year now. Replacing the stock cord with the NBS made a slight improvement. Adding a dedicated power line for the Wadia made a larger improvement.Recently I had the chance to audition the Highwire Power Wraps. Since I had several available, I put one on the NBS cord, and gained a major improvement in sound-stage accuracy and tonal purity. Adding a second Wrap, so that the two meet at the center of the power cord, made almost as much improvement over the single Wrap as the single one made over no Wrap. Adding a third (again with the Wraps centered on the cord) improved things slightly over two Wraps. The larger size Wrap is required, and still makes a tight fit over the NBS cord. The smaller Wrap would fit easily over a stock cord, but the extra mass of the larger Wrap may make it more effective.
These $25 devices were designed primarily for non-detachable power cords on modest gear. It is surprising how much better my Wadia sounds with a couple of them on the NBS cord. Another way to look at this is to entertain the possibility that much of the controversy over the sound of Wadia 861X players has to do with deficiencies in the design of the power supply. It is possible for the supply to provide inadequate isolation from RFI on the power cord, to inject RFI on to the power cord, or both. Part of the issue with RFI on power cords is that the power cord looks like an antenna, and has a resonant frequency determined by its length and speed of propagation in its insulator. Even a little stimulus from, say, rectifier diodes, may set up a strong standing wave on the cord, like a little breeze can stimulate an organ pipe. If this standing wave corresponds to a frequency that can get past the power supply filters, it will affect the various circuits inside the player. The Power Wraps absorb RF energy and make it difficult for the standing wave to be sustained.
I don't know if other CD players would respond this well to the Power Wraps. I think it depends on the care and skill exercised in design of the power supply, and whether the power cord employed used RF-damping technology.
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Topic - Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - Leisure7 19:51:42 12/17/03 (20)
- I had much luck on the 861 - KeithR 13:44:28 12/19/03 (1)
- Appears to be a similar approach. - Leisure7 07:34:00 12/21/03 (0)
- Re: Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - mazort 18:56:57 12/18/03 (3)
- The cheap portable radio test. - Leisure7 10:03:29 12/19/03 (2)
- Re: The cheap portable radio test. - S 11:57:54 12/19/03 (1)
- Keep the Wadia display OFF. - Leisure7 15:45:17 12/20/03 (0)
- Re: Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - gryphonaddict 12:39:37 12/18/03 (0)
- Re: Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - highendman 08:32:53 12/18/03 (0)
- Re: Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - audionutge@yahoo.com 21:22:09 12/17/03 (1)
- Re: Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - Leisure7 09:53:56 12/18/03 (0)
- Re: Power Wraps with Wadia 861 - Roland N 20:42:06 12/17/03 (9)
- solid core DIY wraps - bartc 13:52:24 12/18/03 (8)
- Solid or stranded but needs connection to ground. - Roland N 20:25:49 12/19/03 (1)
- That 4.7 MFD cap needs to be film ie polyester is OK. nt - Roland N 20:33:25 12/19/03 (0)
- Which effect? - S 06:14:43 12/19/03 (5)
- Re: Which effect? - bartc 06:44:56 12/19/03 (4)
- You need the proper materials. - Leisure7 09:55:33 12/19/03 (3)
- Re: You need the proper materials. - S 11:50:10 12/19/03 (1)
- Disagree. - Leisure7 15:53:09 12/20/03 (0)
- Yea, verily! nt - bartc 10:35:40 12/19/03 (0)