High End 2022 • Hot Product

For anybody wondering why the single-box Wadax Reference Server ($64,900) has a large socket on the back marked "PSU," the answer is finally here. The Wadax Reference Power Supply ($49,000) is a heavily regulated “universal external supply” to be used as an optional upgrade with the Reference Server and also other, forthcoming Reference components, although not to replace the twin units supplied with the Reference DAC ($157,000). Offering a variation on the now-established "heavy shoulders, central core" aesthetic established by the DAC and Server and available in mix-and-match black and silver color blocks, the Reference PSU is Wadax's quietest power supply yet, with a 1Hz-to-20kHz noise level of around 200nV.

To go with the Reference Power Supply (and Reference DAC), Wadax also offer a choice of Standard ($1200) or Reference ($19,800) DC cables. The Reference DC uses silver/gold alloy conductors and mirrors the massive connectors and brightly hued, silk skin of the AKASA optical interconnect ($19,240), although this time, in a rather fetching raspberry red.

Also lurking in the Wadax room -- although somewhat overshadowed by the burgeoning Reference family -- the Atlantis Transport X ($59,800) is the first indicator of a revised, simpler and more modular Atlantis line. Following customer feedback, many of whom opted to disable the elegant but complex, motorized lid and elevating disc drive of the original transport, the Transport X requires the user to slide the smoothly operating lid and place the disc and clamp onto the recessed spindle. Otherwise, the form, function and facilities remain as before, although early adopters are reporting a small but worthwhile improvement in performance over the earlier version.

More importantly, expect a revised and updated Atlantis line (dubbed Atlantis Studio) to follow a similar path, becoming simpler and more expandable in nature. So for example, the Atlantis Studio DAC will be a single-box unit (as opposed to the two-box format of the existing Atlantis DAC), with the option to add not just one but two external supplies, improving the ultimate performance level, while also making the products more easily attainable -- or at least attainable by stages.

The Atlantis Studio products are slated for release at Munich 2023, so don't hold your breath. But for everybody who loves the Wadax sound but can't remotely entertain Reference prices, at least there's hope on the horizon.