Wadax • Atlantis Digital-to-Analog Converter and Universal Transport

by Roy Gregory | April 9, 2020

© www.theaudiobeat.com

I remember well being intellectually and musically sideswiped by the original Wadax Pre 1, a single-box, do-it-all DAC, streamer, A-to-D, phono stage and line stage that, despite prior experience (and deeply entrenched prejudice on my part), proved capable of not just doing it all, but doing it all brilliantly. In particular, it raised the bar for musically lucid, satisfying and convincing digital replay so high that it set a completely new standard, totally revising my expectations when it came to digitally encoded music -- a position that subsequent Wadax products have maintained and staunchly defended. Since that first Pre 1 crossed my threshold, no digital replay system has come close to matching the musical performance of the Wadax products, and they have become an essential part of my listening pleasure.

Compact, versatile and supremely capable, the Pre 1 slowly evolved, first adding an external power supply to become the Pre 1 Ultimate and then a matching external server/renderer to become the Pre 1 Ultimate Trio. But all along the way, the heart of the system was the performance of its digital-to-analog conversion -- no real surprise, given its unique, technologically sophisticated solution to the thorny problem of transforming digits into living, breathing musical expression.

Unlike with analog systems, engineers working with digital devices can rely on truth data. They can input a precisely constituted signal devoid of extraneous artifacts, and by examining the output they can define the induced error of the device, or more properly, its transfer function -- what happens to a signal that passes through it. Apply that logic to a DAC chip and you can calculate that transfer function. Examine the input signal, calculate the induced error, add the inverse signal and, all of sudden, you’ve got a feed-forward error-correction system.

Except that it isn’t so easy. For starters, the transfer function will vary with load, meaning that you need to examine the input signal for amplitude and rate of change, and the error occurs in both the amplitude and time domains. Undaunted by the monumental complexity of the problem, Javier Guadalajara, the man behind Wadax, set about developing a sophisticated mathematical algorithm, dubbed the MusIC Process, the result of which is digital feed-forward correction of time, amplitude and phase errors in a matching DAC chipset (obviously, the algorithm has to be tailored to a specific DAC chip and its transfer function). Musically speaking, the results are unlike anything else you’ll have heard from digital. With a fundamentally lower level of time and phase error relative to conventional digital systems (that is, pretty much all the others), Wadax DACs are universally characterized by a natural sense of flow and musical structure, unforced yet substantial dynamic range, natural presence, tonality and a communicative quality that is eerily reminiscent of live music. They get more of the information in the right place at exactly the right time, and right is exactly how they sound. They all do it and each subsequent generation has done it better and more convincingly than the previous.

But as impressive as the Pre 1 was in performance terms, with line and phono capabilities to challenge the best separates out there, it had a fatal flaw. In market terms, it just didn’t fit. Most buyers were wanting single boxes (or at least single functions) rather than swapping out half their system. They didn’t necessarily want to toss out their much-loved line and phono stages simply to accommodate a new DAC. Throw in a natural reticence (okay, naked suspicion) of anything that takes the analog signal from your record player and turns it into digital before turning it back again to analog and you had a serious barrier to sales. No matter that the phono stage in the Pre 1 was one of the finest and most musically satisfying you could buy. No matter that, given the price and the significant cost savings of employing a single chassis, it was also a considerable bargain. It was just wrong.

Time and history will likely prove Wadax right, but in the meantime they’ve learnt their lesson, and the current range has a adopted a far more familiar, two-tier, separates format. In terms of DACs, that means Wadax now offers the one-box Arcadia ($22,000), the two-box Atlantis ($69,000) and the three-box (DAC and two power supplies) Atlantis Reference ($130,000). The product reviewed here is the standard Atlantis DAC, along with the matching Atlantis Universal Disc Transport. As we’ll see, in this case there’s more to matching than just similar-looking casework. There’s also a matching Atlantis Server, built into the same size chassis as the DAC's power supply. It costs $20,000 and includes a 2TB solid-state drive. If you want to use it with DACs other than the Atlantis, a universal digital output card for S/PDIF and AES/EBU connection is available at $2995. All units are available in either black-and-silver or black-and-gold finish.

While other high-end digital manufacturers have leapt on the latest bandwagon, espousing ever-higher-resolution file replay, often -- apparently -- without stopping to question whether the approach offers any musical advantages, the developmental arc at Wadax has been rather different. It’s not that the Wadax DACs don’t do high-res file replay; rather, they don’t push it as their sole raison d'être. Instead, rather than indulging in an ever-escalating arms race to generate ever greater numbers, the company has spent its time looking at rather more fundamental issues with digital replay, intent on further reducing error mechanisms that occur elsewhere in the technology. To that end, they have waged war on the noise floor and other spurious artifacts (electrically or mechanically generated), clock accuracy and the analog performance of the output stage. Look at the physical implementation of the Atlantis DAC and the technological high points of its unique circuitry and that obsession with signal integrity becomes self-evident.

The DAC circuitry is built around the latest MusIC 2 chipset and algorithm, but that’s only the start. The Atlantis offers native decoding of both DSD and PCM material as well as dual clock frequencies (44.1kHz and 48kHz). The entire circuit is dual mono, down to the massive external power supply, with its multiple custom-wound transformers using a proprietary core material and dual umbilical connections with real-time monitoring/correction of the DC feeds to the distributed regulation at every critical stage of the circuit. That reduces residual noise by a factor of six compared to the already superb performance of the Pre 1 Ultimate Trio. The clock is the latest Zepto 2 OCXO design, which, in conjunction with critical control of routing and track lengths, has reduced total jitter to less than 12 femtoseconds (a very small number indeed -- and one that Wadax claims is only bettered by the Atlantis Reference DAC). The I/V conversion and analog output stage are both fully discrete and involve over 400 components, many of them custom specified, while output level can be set at 1, 2 or 4V to optimize system matching.

The DAC's massive, machined alloy housings are FEA designed to draw internally generated mechanical energy toward the mechanical grounding points provided by the adjustable feet, while the twin-chassis design weighs in at a combined total of 46kg -- over 100 pounds. Both chassis also have ground terminals. Key circuit blocks are based on modular designs that can be replaced or upgraded as necessary. In many respects, especially in terms of the power supply and mechanical considerations, this description seems more reminiscent of a high-end preamp than a DAC. But then, sonically speaking, that’s pretty much the point.

In signal terms, the Atlantis DAC offers a similar range of input options and data rates as most of the competition. There are connections for S/PDIF (RCA and BNC), AES/EBU (32-192kHz, 16-24 bits), USB (32-384kHz, 16-32 bits, DSD64 and 128, and MQA), and the proprietary Wadax Link (a dual-Ethernet connection), which will transmit native PCM and DSD. There are also Ethernet and USB connections to allow for cloud connection and remote software upgrades. So yes, it does high-res file replay, and it just doesn’t shout about it as the be-all and end-all of digital performance. As we shall see, if it is the musical performance that matters, there’s more than one way to access high-res material (and not all ways are equal). Having said that, Wadax has also applied the same care and attention to mechanical and electrical detail to the creation of a matching, Roon-ready server chassis, although that’s outside the scope of this review.

Outputs are both single-ended RCA and balanced XLR, and as well as varying output level you can also reverse its absolute phase. Connections and other functionality are accessed through a five-inch, full-color touch screen that is refreshingly clear and positive to use -- as well as defaulting to a suitably discrete input/sample-rate readout that prevents the whole thing from turning into a distracting, multi-colored light show. About the only quibble I have in operational terms is that the Wadax Link is labeled “Transport” in the display, which can lead to confusion first time around. Having said that, the input self-switches for sample rate and disc type, a bonus.

Which brings us rather neatly to the Atlantis Transport, which at 170mm highl (rather than the DAC's’ 124mm) represents an even heftier beast, its massive single chassis weighing in at a grunt-inducing 32kg, or over 70 pounds -- as much as many power amps. Although taller than the DAC or its matching power supply, it shares styling and the same 5" touch-screen control panel. Like all the best transports, this one is top-loading, a substantial motorized lid sliding back before the top half of the proprietary Thor transport block rises up to present the disc spindle. If all that sounds a bit Star Trek, users can set menu options to disable one or both of the motorized elements, creating a manual sliding lid and/or fixed transport as they choose.

The disc is held in place with a magnetic clamp. The Thor transport mechanism is more than just a solid lump. As well as mechanical grounding of the disc mechanism, it also offers electrical grounding of intrusive eddy currents, eliminating the intrusive induced currents that can interfere with photo-optical replay mechanisms. It also delivers a bit-consistent, non-interpolated, native data stream according to the source, with the Wadax Link transmitting SACD material directly to the DSD decoding in the Atlantis DAC.

Not surprisingly, a huge amount of effort has gone into the power supply, with twin custom-wound transformers and real-time monitoring/correction of the AC feeds. Other aspects of system performance are also carefully considered, with the control software offering readouts for both absolute level via an inclinometer and induced vibration -- useful tools when it comes to ensuring the best possible support and working environment. The rear panel is surprisingly Spartan, with outputs for S/PDIF (RCA only, somewhat surprisingly), AES/EBU and twin Ethernet connections for the Wadax Link. Once again, there’s a chassis ground point along with USB and Ethernet ports for remote servicing.

There’s also a single HDMI connector. HDMI on a high-end transport? Well, yes. When Wadax describes the Atlantis Transport as universal, they ain’t kidding. As well as all the various Red Book standards (CD, CD-R, CD-RW, etc.), the Atlantis will play SACDs, DVD-Audio discs, Blu-ray Pure Audio discs and DVD-R/RWs, while the addition of the optional video card will add 4k UHD Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD-Video to the list. That versatility is actually seriously important, both in terms of maximizing the replay quality of SACD or DVD-A discs (which, in combination with the native DSD decoding, finally shows what the SACD format, in particular, can do) as well as allowing owners to get the best from such eclectic sources as the Japanese produced, SACD-only SHM discs. But it also encourages the inclusion of video replay in conjunction with, yet without compromising, two-channel performance, opening up the rich vein of live performance/concert and opera videos that are becoming more and more common.

Running a 2.0- or 2.2-channel A/V setup is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for both concert video and movie replay in the context of high-quality audio systems -- a setup that easily outperforms surround-based home-cinema systems in every regard, save for sheer bombast. The benefits are huge when it comes to dialogue, emotional communication, musical integrity and the presentation of staged events like opera. The advantages of simply eliminating the processor and all those extra amplifiers and speakers from the main system should be obvious, while the 2.0/2.2 approach also maximizes your return on the funds already invested in your stellar two-channel rig. Install the Atlantis Transport’s video card with its dedicated, independent power supply and you eliminate the clutter of additional disc players while also benefitting from the mechanical and electrical advantages of the Thor transport mechanism. You might not have considered incorporating video into the sacred precincts of your two-channel audio system, but the Atlantis Transport should make you think again.

The biggest leap in using the Atlantis Transport occurs with the control interface. The touch screen offers basic readout and replay functionality on its home page, with a second screen to access track skip, repeat and other functions, including video-related options. This is not as immediately intuitive as a row of buttons, you soon get the hang of it. Thankfully, the screen itself offers positive response to input, so there’s none of those Did it or didn’t it? moments while you wonder whether it accepted a command. Once you’ve gotten used to the interface, it becomes second nature and more fluid in operation than the press-button alternatives. That wasn’t always the case, with the earliest versions of the transport exhibiting bewilderingly erratic sensitivity to control. That is long gone, but, interestingly, both that and a host of other series software upgrades, generally remotely applied by Wadax to owner’s units in situ, demonstrate the company’s open attitude to feedback and development. There’s a welcome absence of ivory-tower complacency here, with a genuine desire to excel on all fronts, rather than hiding between a carapace of marketing speak and proprietary solutions.

Operational functionality is duplicated on a slim, handheld remote control that adds a direct-track-access numerical keypad to the other functions. Range and operational angles are excellent, although as with most remotes, I rarely use it, preferring to operate the units from their front-panel control screens. After all, you’ve got to walk up to the player to load the disc, and the vast majority of my listening involves either whole-disc replay (for pleasure) or repetition of the same track (for review purposes). In the former case, the remote offers no advantage whilst in the latter, its elimination from the process also eliminates another potential variable. Other users may, of course, disagree.

Review products can be classified in many different ways, from those that come and go within a tightly defined timescale ruled by circumstance, to those that arrive and never get collected, to those that you can’t wait to get shot of, to those that you hang onto for as long as possible. But atop all those other categories reside those that once they’ve arrived, you simply can’t let go -- that have become an essential part of the process and essential to your enjoyment of recorded music. The Atlantis Transport and DAC are firmly in that last category. Let me be absolutely clear about this: the Wadax pairing is not just the most musically accomplished digital replay system I’ve enjoyed at home, it enjoys that status by a massive margin, even over the Pre 1 Ultimate that it has superseded. Frankly, nothing else I’ve used comes close. But that simple statement is not enough. Instead, it’s necessary to understand the how and why of what the Atlantis achieves, both as a standalone DAC and as a combination. It was as a standalone DAC that I first used the Atlantis, paired with various CEC transports, to impressive effect.

Given that the Atlantis DAC’s basic mode of operation is both unique and fundamentally different to that of other DACs, you might well conclude that it won’t sound like other DACs either -- and you’d be right. What the Wadax DAC offers over the high-priced competition -- and let’s never forget that the Atlantis is no beer-budget bargain -- is perhaps best summed up as stability. The musical pictures painted by the Wadax are held solidly in place. It’s a quality that brings substance and presence to both acoustic spaces and the images that inhabit them, leaving other digital systems sounding threadbare and insubstantial in comparison, with holographic images that major on the hollow if they present dimensionality at all. The Atlantis offers fully fleshed performers, rich harmonics and palpable spaces. That dimensionality and presence grow out of the DAC’s ability to lock musical information and cues in space and time. Other digital systems allow information to wander or shimmer, almost subconscious artifacts that nevertheless significantly undermine the impression of real people in a real space. Just as a holographic image never looks real, nor do the images generated by the vast majority of DACs -- and the flaws are surprisingly similar: blurred edges, a lack of solidity, washed-out colors and jerky, mechanical movements. If you want a visual metaphor for digital’s sonic thumbprint, there you have it.

Except that the Atlantis DAC neatly sidesteps the cliché. That stability, stemming from the temporal accuracy with which it handles the data stream, has other significant musical benefits too. Rhythmic nuance, phrasing and musical structure all gain clarity and purpose, notes happening in the right place, at the right relative level and at the right time. That might sound pretty basic, and it is; in fact, it’s the very basis of music itself, but that doesn’t stop the error mechanisms inherent in conventional digital electronics from eroding or undermining those key internal relationships. Furthermore, underpin all that with a truly solid and really low noise floor and you provide a firm foundation on which the rest dynamic shifts, allowing wider overall dynamic range, quicker jumps in level, but most importantly of all, more precise definition of those shifts in level, no matter how large or small. Given that the duration and level of the notes played are absolutely crucial to a musician’s range of expression -- whether he's singing or playing an instrument -- this capability cuts right to the heart of your system’s ability to bring living, breathing performers and performances to your listening space.

So, that all sounds spiffing in theory, but what does it sound like in terms of actual recorded music? Bloody marvelous! is the short answer, but you’d probably like a few more specifics. Let’s start at the beginning (a very good place to start -- sorry, I’ve been guiltily consuming the recording of Frederica von Stade singing songs from The Sound of Music -- [Teldec DG-10162]) and where better than one of my go-to recordings, the Giulini/Benedetti Michelangeli Beethoven 1st Piano Concerto [Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 419 248-2]. Highly regarded as an LP, this live concert recording captures Giulini, Benedetti Michelangeli and the Wiener Symphoniker in stellar form. The challenge it presents any system (especially in its CD transfer) is to generate that frisson of drama and creative tension that characterizes a great live performance. The CEC TL2N/Atlantis DAC pairing excels in this regard. As you hear the mics come up, the acoustic opens in front of you and reaches forward to embrace you, the muted opening bars establishing a sense of heady anticipation. As the orchestration builds, so the stage is occupied by the different instrumental groups -- and it’s here that I need to pause the recording to discuss what’s happening. That description of the acoustic space opening before and around you is a big clue, but it’s the presentation of the orchestra that rams home the incredibly natural perspective and holistic sound of the Atlantis DAC. As you listen to the interplay between instruments, the sheer clarity of the instrumental separation, phrasing and musical structure is uncannily lucid, the various instruments effortlessly separated tonally and spatially, laterally and in depth. That’s when you begin to realize that this clarity grows from the inside out. The palpable acoustic space rests on the energy generated and the air surrounding the instruments -- or in the first instance, the shuffles and rustles of the waiting audience.

That energy, which starts on the stage and expands to fill the hall, is more reminiscent of the way analog systems project the musical performance. That’s not to say that the Atlantis DAC sounds like analogue: it’s way too linear for that, especially through the low frequencies. But it generates the energy of the musical performance in a way that’s far more akin to analog front-ends (and musical instruments themselves, for that matter). If you stopped to ask the question, “Does the Atlantis DAC image?” you’d probably hesitate before answering. That’s because it doesn’t image in the clichéd audiophile sense, with etched, spot-lit location and separation. Instead, the dimensional and locational information is so seamlessly integrated with the music that it doesn’t stand apart as a separate capability. This is no sonic party trick, soundstaging as a raison d’être in and of itself. This is staging, dimensionality, a sense of substance as a natural outgrowth of the playing and the performance. A result of the Atlantis DAC’s ability to sort and preserve time and phase information, it adds significantly to the sense of real musicians and a real performance, a performance that’s a world away from the two-dimensional -- ranks of cardboard cutouts that so often pass for orchestral images.

Moving swiftly on, we can marvel at Giulini’s control of pace and level, his exquisite tempo and sense of direction, his grasp of the mounting levels and musical density that lead seemingly inevitably to the solo entrance. And what an entrance: Benedetti Michelangeli’s piano is a substantial, stable presence, a solid base for his deft playing, fluid phrasing and subtle use of accent and note weight. Few pianists can match his expressive and interpretive range; few recordings and fewer systems can capture and reproduce it. The Atlantis DAC, particularly partnered with the Living Voice Vox Palladians (with their effortlessly natural dynamic discrimination), delivers a spellbinding performance, full of delicacy and perfect weight, contrasted with an almost physical sense of energy and attack: The relationship between the left and right hands takes on a new clarity and significance: The phrasing has an astonishingly natural grace and fluidity.

Rarely if ever have I heard any system deliver an individual performance quite as directly, as intimately and as affectingly as the Wadax/Living Voice combination does here. The speakers play their part, but it’s the DAC that’s setting the bar, a fact it ably demonstrates with other transducers as varied as the Wilson Alexx or the Wilson Benesch Eminence. That’s some pretty heady company the Atlantis DAC has been keeping, but if you are good enough you’re big enough. This is one product that doesn’t need to be coaxed into showing its quality. Yes, the niceties of setup matter, but you’ll hear the benefits in significantly more modest systems than the ones I’ve just listed, from the Mark Levinson No.585 driving the Wilson Sasha DAW or the Stenheim Alumine 5, to the VTL TL-6.5 II/S-200 Signature paired with the Vienna Acoustics Liszt. When something is this right and it’s right at the front of the system, those benefits become hard to miss.

The ability of the Atlantis DAC to cut right to the expressive heart of the Giulini/Benedetti Michelangeli recording is as impressive as it is remarkable. But it’s no one-time thing, a happy coincidence of system and disc finding perfect harmony. For me, one of the fascinations with classical music is differing styles of performance or different interpretations of the same piece. Swapping discs to the legendary Martha Argerich recording of the Prokofieff 3rd Piano Concerto (with Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker -- [Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft UHQCD UCCG-40086]) the contrast is both stark and immediate. The recording simply doesn’t stand comparison with the Giulini disc, but the performance is genuinely remarkable, the young Argerich demonstrating a range and power, command and authority way beyond her tender years. Abbado marshals the BPO with formidable purpose and discipline, and the results are as dramatic as they are high-impact. But this is not all about bombast. In the quieter moments Argerich conjures sheets of color and fluid, flights of fancy that link effortlessly to the next percussive peak. This is awkward, disjointed music -- at least when compared to the majestic symmetry of the Beethoven -- but the clarity and sense of direction (both from soloist and conductor) reveal the structural development as never before. Time and again, the Atlantis DAC unraveled the convoluted threads of music I’ve struggled with over the years, from Prokofieff to Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, doing it so effortlessly that I’m left wondering why I didn’t get it all along.

Another shift of pace, this time to something more recent and Jan Lisiecki’s recording of Mendelssohn piano pieces with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra [Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 00289 483 6471]. Bracketing such a newbie with legends like Benedetti Michelangeli and Martha Argerich might seem a tad presumptuous, until you appreciate the astonishing poise, control and effortless range that Lisiecki brings to his performance. Combine that stunning technique with musical sensibilities and expressive capabilities to match and you have a performer who seems destined to join the greats. Once again, the Atlantis DAC paints a contrasting picture, a smaller and more intimate orchestra, without the scale and sheer power of the other two, yet with a musical intensity and dramatic flair that stem from Lisiecki’s lead. The piano lacks the sheer substance of Argerich’s instrument, but the dexterity of the playing and weighting of notes are as erudite as they are captivating, making this the third of three very different discs, each from a different decade yet all from the same label and all equally musically compelling in their own way. At least, they are if the DAC being used is the Atlantis.

That ability to allow the performance its separate voice is both rare and important, suggesting the Atlantis DAC possesses that most valuable of all talents when it comes to transducers: sonic invisibility -- the power to step behind the music and out of the aural sightline. With almost no thumbprint imposed on the signal, the Atlantis can pull the same trick whether it’s a classical recording or The Cure. The recording and developmental contrasts between Three Imaginary Boys [Fiction 827 686-2], Seventeen Seconds [Fiction 25 354-2} and Faith [Fiction 827 687-2] underline the band’s steep learning curve and growing sophistication in those pre-sequencer days. Likewise, the lyrical and musical development of artists as varied as Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello, Steve Earle and Nanci Griffith, is just as clear and equally individual. If the perfect system should play all types of music, then the Wadax gets extremely close to that ideal.

Along with that concentrated musical substance and presence comes the Atlantis DAC’s sense of scale and power, musical contrast and impact, all qualities that are extended or become more obvious once the Atlantis Transport is brought into play. As impressive as the system’s expansive width and depth, as apparent as the acoustic space is with the CEC TL2-N providing the feed, switching to the Atlantis Transport brings an immediate and significant increase in transparency, focus and the sense of space in and around instruments. It’s not so much that the pattern of energy on the stage changes, just that it is much more explicit. Along with that increase in clarity comes even greater dynamic precision and discrimination, increased instrumental texture, a broader tonal palette and greater musical immediacy. In the old adage, the Atlantis Transport puts you very definitely in the same space as the musicians. Lisiecki’s brilliance is much more apparent, as is his range of key pressure and explosive dynamic ability. In the case of Argerich, the performance is underpinned by a piano sound of such weight and substance that you wonder if the stage had to reinforced.

But in either instance, the real advance is in terms of just how easy it is to hear what is being played and how it all fits together, and that’s not simply a stereo artifact. Play Coltrane’s My Favorite Things (the brilliant UHQCD mono issue [UHQCD WPCR-18248]) and the spacing of notes, the apparent simplicity of the rhythms, the increasingly complex melodic evolutions have a captivating communicative directness. This is all about the sense of performance and musical drama. It is about the performers and what they’re putting out, whether that’s the charismatic flourish of a young Jan Lisiecki leading the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra or the beautifully measured and understated playing of McCoy Tyner working around Coltrane’s sax lines.

Much of that increase in drama and impact comes from crisper and wider dynamic response. The transport simply allows the DAC to jump quicker and further when it needs to, to take smaller, more precise steps when they’re called for. This effortless dynamic expression is crucial to all forms of music, although you’ll go a long way before you find a more impressive example of it than Petrenko’s reading of the Shostakovich 5th Symphony with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra [Naxos 8.572167], proof, if ever it was needed, that you don’t have to buy expensive discs to get great music that’s been recorded really well. With the Atlantis combination, the chilly tonality of the opening movement is positively frigid, the measured shiver of the strings ratcheting up the tension with each tiny increase in level, the anticipation building each time the intensity falls away as the work moves towards that initial, shattering climax -- and believe me, the fourth movement is dynamically more impressive still. It’s an object lesson in just how critical both dynamic control and linearity are to musical impact. The absence of bumps or dips in the Atlantis DAC’s energy spectrum is crucial to both the presentation of musical energy and the absence of surges or missteps in the pace and placement of notes and phrases. Combined with the clarity of pattern and purpose, this more than anything else raises the Atlantis pairing head and shoulders above the competition.

Of course, using the Universal Transport for disc replay allows native replay of SACD discs (and DVD-A, if you own any). The sonic and musical attributes of the Atlantis Transport revel in the advantages of the higher-resolution formats, revealing just how good SACD can sound -- and just how much of an also-ran spoiler DVD-A almost was. Without wallowing in the minutiae of reproduction, it's enough to simply observe that switching up to the SHM SACD issue of the Giulini/Benedetti Michelangeli disc generates a much greater sense living presence on the part of the performers, tiny cues and an overall increase in clarity and order to the picture, amounting to a significantly greater sense of “they are here” and a much shorter bridge to the suspension of disbelief. Or to put it another way, it simply became easier to get immersed in the music and forget the system entirely, a quality that held good across SACD in general -- as long as original recording was up to it.

The Wadax Atlantis Transport and DAC present the digital replay competition with a significant challenge, both in performance terms and in the shape of the technological questions they pose. Not only do they set an impressive benchmark for musical replay from digital sources of all types, they do it by addressing the fundamental error mechanisms inherent in the replay process, rather than the fashionable option of simply chasing ever-higher sampling rates. Yes, the Atlantis units offer superb musical performance from SACD -- arguably demonstrating just what we lost when that format was attacked and undermined by the DVD-A working group -- but their real power lies in the performances they deliver from standard CDs. Alongside the astonishing performance of glass CD, the Wadax components demonstrate that there never was a problem with the original mathematics that underpinned the 16-bit/44.1kHz Red Book standard. By simply chasing increased data rates rather than dealing with the embedded issues that generate the aurally intrusive digital thumbprint that mars so much digital replay, we actually risk making things worse, generating more information that makes even less sense.

Looking back across the musical examples I’ve cited in this review, it’s interesting to note just how many involve piano, an instrument for which the weight and placement of notes are utterly crucial to its expressive range. Pianists enjoy none of the options for accenting or slurring notes that are open to the strings and winds. Yet the Atlantis units present piano with both a confident authority and communicative directness that sets new standards for audio systems of any type. At the same time, that ability extends to and underpins all other musical performances, from spoken voice to acoustic instruments, electric rock guitar to fully synthesized dance beats. With the arrival of the Atlantis, I’ve finally reached a point where the availability of a performance outweighs the format in which it’s available.

At the same time, as the Red Book standard is finally delivering the performance we were always promised, the major labels are flooding the market with affordable Red Book discs, ransacking the archives, hoping to score one last killing before file-replay renders optical disc obsolete -- and fatally punctures their overinflated disc-based profit center. Throw Amazon into the mix and the result is that not only are we seeing slews of previously unavailable material released on CD, but also those discs have never been so affordable -- or, thanks to the Atlantis, so musically rewarding. The death of the optical disc might be widely predicted, but for the moment it’s not only enjoying rude health, but it’s also actually outperforming the file formats that are supposed to be killing it. If it is the musical performance that matters, the Wadax Universal Transport offers more access in more formats and at higher quality than I’ve ever enjoyed from digital media. Alongside the Atlantis DAC, it establishes the musical standard against which the competition must measure itself. Which brings me to the most intriguing question of all. If the Atlantis sets the standard, what does the Reference DAC bring to the party -- or, more importantly still, where does the one-box Arcadia fit into the great scheme of things?

Experience with the flagship suggests that Arcadia delivers even more of the same and that, as with all things audio, the higher the performance level overall, the more musically significant even incremental improvements become. The Wadax Reference DAC does digital better than anything else I’ve heard -- including the Atlantis. Given the margin of musical superiority the Atlantis enjoys over the competition, that makes the Reference DAC very special indeed -- a genuine case of showing just what’s possible, albeit at a ruinously unapproachable price. The Arcadia, on the other hand, features the same core technology and same fundamental concerns as the other Wadax products, in a smaller, simpler package that costs around a third of the price tag hanging on the Atlantis DAC. Just how much of the DNA delivered in its big-brother’s benchmark performance does the one-box unit preserve? You’d better believe that that question is top of my audio priorities.

Meanwhile, I’ll be spending time working my way through that stack of newly arrived CDs, enjoying and occasionally marveling at the performances the Atlantis transport and DAC can lift from those enigmatic, shiny surfaces. Digital replay has never sounded so good. Most of it still doesn’t.

Warranty: One year parts and labor.

Wadax S.A.
Ronda de Abubilla 33 - Bl. 10
28043 Madrid, Spain
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Setup and optimization

Like any units capable of extraordinary resolution, the Atlantis components respond to care and attention when it comes to setup. The inclusion of the inclinometer and vibrometer in the transport is no accident or party piece. Both aspects of setup are crucial to achieving optimum performance. You need to get all of the Atlantis units level (I mean really level) and stable. You also need to offer an effective mechanical ground for those rigid chassis components. I found that HRS Nimbus couplers worked brilliantly under the DAC and power supply, with Vortex preferred under the transport. Nordost TC Sort Kones worked really well too, maximizing intra-instrumental space, separation and clarity, but this is an either/or choice. It is important to use consistent support across the different boxes, whether that be HRS, Nordost or another alternative. I also liked HRS damping plates placed on the DAC components, irrespective of the couplers in use.

All of the Atlantis components are fitted with a chassis ground terminal, but that’s only half the story. A series of round-robin comparisons with partial grounding, comprehensive grounding and grounding of both chassis and signal grounds demonstrated both the effectiveness of external grounds in revealing the full dynamic range and low noise floor of the Atlantis components and the benefits of separating chassis and signal grounds. I found that connecting the chassis grounds to a Nordost Qkore 6 and the S/PDIF output/input on the transport and DAC to a CAD GC3 delivered the best results, with a remarkable drop in overall noise and grain and a commensurate increase in instrumental presence, color and dimensionality. None of that is unexpected, but the degree of improvement is noteworthy, simply because of what it reveals about the resolution of the system involved.

While the AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital connections offered excellent results, both were eclipsed by the twin-Ethernet Wadax Link connection. However, don’t assume that just because we’re talking Ethernet the cables don’t matter. As with USB or network/file replay, the cables employed are just as critical as in any other audio application. I used matched pairs of either Nordost Frey 2 or AudioQuest Diamond, each massively improving on the performance of standard network cables, but each with a very different musical result. While the Nordost cables played to the clarity, transparency and dynamic range of the Atlantis duo, the AudioQuest cables offered a fuller, richer and more sumptuous musical account. Where the Frey 2 was all bustling agility and explicit shifts in level, the Diamonds showed a smoother, more relaxed view of events. You pays your money and takes your choice, but don’t neglect this aspect of setup. It is a crucial option when it comes to leaning the performance of the Atlantis pairing toward one set of performance attributes or another, to matching it with a given system.