WADAX ATLANTIS TRANSPORT & DAC…The Peak of Digital Quality?!

Those who have been following the high end audio industry may have learnt of the company, WADAX. It is a Spanish company established in 2006, with its Founder/CEO having ties to acoustics, electronics, digital audio, telecommunications, manufacture of specialized chipset and high end audio. Therefore, the WADAX team and it’s CEO, (Professor) Javier Guadalajara have decided to distinguish themselves in the audio industry, to design and build the ultimate digital playback system from (almost) scratch. By 2010, WADAX is the first high end audio company that managed to designed its own proprietary audio chip for uncompromised quality in music playback, the musIC chip. The musIC chip processes data in 128 bit resolution and transfers audio data at 6.4 GBytes/second, which require 2 Ethernet cables. These become the foundation of all digital products from WADAX.

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Javier

                                                               Alberto

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After about 30,000 man hours by passionate engineers and scientists, WADAX launched their most ambitious technologically rich and mathematically accurate DAC, the Atlantis Reference in 2017. It consisted of 23 printed circuit boards, 10 independent purpose-wound power transformers and over 5,500 discrete parts, which mostly designed and built in-house…all at the asking price of US$130,000…critically acclaimed!

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Early 2020, I learnt that Centre Circle Audio Visual “The Art of BESPOKE AUDIO” would be representing WADAX in Malaysia and that their first shipment to arrive would be the Atlantis Optical Transport (US$45,000) and Atlantis Digital to Analogue Converter (US$69,000). Straight away, I booked for an early audition of the WADAX Atlantis combo as soon as they are ready. Nelson Chia, the owner of Centre Circle Audio Visual arranged a private audition for me in the first week of June, 2020.

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The Atlantis DAC is but one tier bellow their flagship Atlantis Reference and it has almost all the bells and whistles of its big brother; over 4,000 discrete parts, proprietary musIC 2 chip, super accurate Zepto clock, discrete analogue output stage of over 400 separate components, chassis of special alloy of specific combination of alloys (which is expertly and scientifically designed by Alberto Ochoa), sophisticated and optimized noise rejection PSU, native SACD, DSD and PCM playback, MQA decoding, modular design for upgradability, and  CLOUD connected for automated firmware/software upgrade.

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The first Optical Transport from WADAX is the Atlantis Transport that can play any silver disc format that include both audio and (optional) 4K video. Within that impressive special multiple alloys constructed chassis (by Alberto Ochoa) lies their proprietary Thor 1.3 Optical Mechanism which is milled from a specific formulation of solid metal alloy for ultimate performance, isolation and damping.

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These maybe gimmicky to some, but I love and appreciate the unique motorized loading mechanism that utilized 2 custom motors at the transport, the vibration monitor, and the inclinometer therein.

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Other important innovations included are the same sophisticated and optimize noise rejection PSU employed in the Atlantis DAC, 10 custom circuit boards, 3(+ 2) motors, 2 large custom transformers, super advanced software, (optional) SACD RIP, modular design for upgradability, and CLOUD connected for automated firmware/ software upgrade.

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At the audition, Nelson Chia has prepared the following set up;

Critical Mass QXK Rack with Black Platinum Filter System, and

Cables by Purist Audio Design.

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In order to have a familiar footing, I brought along three CDs for the listening session; The Fifth & Fifthteenth (feverSound/DSFS-001CD), Kit Chan (New Century Workshop/ NCKC10141516-2) and Skye “Deep Blue” (UHQCD Nano Music AM6037 UHQ). These CDs are my usual review companions for quick assessment of any component.

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Almost immediately, I found myself being hit by a welcoming presence of the very voice of (Ms.) Judas Law, at track 4 of “The Fifth & Fifthteenth“. (And) That presence clearly spaced her away from the accompanying guitar/ instrument, within a very quiet background. I believe that the presence was the result of transparency to the inherent detail of density, palpability and delineation that summed up the essence of her voice. That same (level of) transparency has given me the sensation as if listening to a live feed from the recording mike at the studio.

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When it came to (Ms.) Kit Chan‘s vocalization (New Century Workshop/ NCKC10141516-2), I found the WADAX Atlantis combo were able to present articulately the multiple layers of details embedded in her voice to almost a level of mechanical precision. It clearly separate each elements in her voice, breathing, technic, artistry and the flow of air therein. There was a clear demarcation between each element as if a line was spaced between each sentence. Those whom have followed my earlier reviews would have asked, ‘was there the connector, the “emotion“, to connect and hold the elements together to form a “coherent and total” singing of the vocalist?’

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At that point, Nelson Chia asked me if the WADAX Atlantis combo sounded “analogue”? My reply to him was that a source component, whether be it analogue or digital, should be transparent to the source material at play, and not the sound/ coloration(?) of analogue or digital.

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I would say that the WADAX Atlantis combo have that element of “emotion” to operate as a connector for the other elements; “voice, breathing, technic, artistry and the flow of air”, and at the same time, as a separate element.

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Here, imagine that the element of emotion as the head train engine pulling the other elements as the trailer cars. Whereas, I am used to having the emotion as a connector and holder of those other elements into one coherent totality…here, the emotion would be a single car and that the other elements would be the individual passengers in it.

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Personally, it is not a question of what I am used to but the question of accuracy to the source material. Obviously I am not the recording engineer of the source material therefore my opinion as to that accuracy is only mine. If subjectivity is permitted, the WADAX Atlantis combo have managed to introduce emotion as a separate element, where that separation have allowed it to have its own space, time and spot light for fuller expression. In other word, the WADAX Atlantis combo have given me a new experience to a well known presentation…with slightly more spotlights and highlights at the elements!
(Question?; or more resolution or more transparent to the source material, or the same elements being presented differently…read on).

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Listening to (Ms.) Skye‘s vocal performance amidst a simple assemble of musicians at her debut album, “Deep Blue” (UHQCD Nano Music AM6037 UHQ), confirmed certain findings. I noticed that there was a clear difference in quantum of her presence and weight compared with the accompanying musicians’.

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I believed that contributed to the presentation of a soundstage which was three dimensional, airy and very stable, with spaced out images of the vocalist and the musicians. I must add that there were rock solid images of the musicians and their instruments were articulately  differentiated and individualized.

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As what was given at the vocalization, the WADAX Atlantis combo gave out the same for the accompanying musicians and their instruments, if the recording permitted. Here, there was no surprise that macro details were being meticulously given out. However, what impressed were the micro vibrancy, micro transient of energy and movement of air being highlighted and spotlighted ever so clearly.

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Next, Nelson Chia played the Bulgarian Piano Blues (MA Recordings M012A) by Milcho Leviev. Here, the sensation of hearing each piano key being played and feeling the vibrant energy ran across the string behind each key within that piano, was an audiophile’s dream. Even the agitation of air within the piano’s chassis was audible and felt.

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In addition, JK who accompanied me in that session, remarked how accurately weighted the piano was, and that the bass was powerful…I would add that the bass was equally cleaned, controlled and defined.

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Seeing that I have been most attentive to vocalization, Nelson Chia recommended to listen, Tsai Chin “audition disc” (6N Pure Silver Disc/ Red Records International Limited). Her voice, performance and recording are most familiar to most local audiophile. He teased that I would be as surprise as he did listening to that recording through the WADAX Atlantis combo…and that, I gladly did. For the first time, I heard Tsai Chin not only sing out her lyric most emotionally but breathing out certain words in the lyric. Again, a new experience for me of a well known presentation (again), and ultimately, confirmed to me that the WADAX Atlantis combo have that higher transparency, higher resolution, and slightly more spotlights and highlights of the elements, and not merely presented them differently.

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Someone remarked to me that buying such high priced WADAX component is for the sake of pride. Definitely, there is pride in owning the WADAX and I believe that the people behind the design, production and marketing, equally have that same pride.

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To me, pride alone is only skin deep for anyone fortunate enough to own the WADAX. Behind that skin is the current State of the Art in Digital Playback, and its production involved 95% of proprietary parts and in-house technologies which cost much higher than the other high end audio products of OEM parts and shared technologies. Its high resolution and transparency to the source material is unheard of for me thus far in the realm of digital media.

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To ask the question of whether its worth the asking price, I’d rather ask if there is something better in performance and quality than the WADAX at a higher and/or lower asking price. If there is none, then that’s the asking price for the ultimate digital audio performance.

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My hope is that what I heard from the WADAX ATLANTIS combo will trickle down to their lesser and cheaper models…wait, they have already launched their more affordable Arcadia DAC!