WadiaDigital does not have a full page entry in Wikipedia? Someone call the marketing team over there and get this sorted out. Mr. Momo, you insane SOB, who is this Wadia Digital and why should I care?

Many of us have days of uninterupted music loaded onto itunes. Mine stands at 2316 songs. This is not huge by many peoples standards. In fact, it does not include my entire CD collection…we all make mistakes. How to best hear all of this without the headphones?

Time to buy one of those crappy ipod docks at the Apple store? Maybe, if I am listening in the garage. Otherwise…No way!

Wadia, an esoteric equipment manufacturer dedicated to high performance digital audio reproduction has an answer…the Wadia 170i. This Made for iPod device bypasses the “internal D/A conversion and output stage,” which enables the music to stream through “clean and unadulterated.” Here I go again bypassing lousy DA converters.

Just what is this magic box? Wes Phillips of Stereophile describes it to you…

The 170iTransport is made in China. Its cast-aluminum body measures 8″ W by 2.7″ H by 8″ D and sports a slot on top in which you dock an iPod. (The slot can be fitted with the ubiquitous Apple clamshell adaptors for all compatible iPod products.) The rear panel has a connector for the 170’s external DC power supply, and outputs for S/PDIF coaxial digital, analog, S-video, and component video. A simple remote is included, as is a digital cable.

Fortunately, we have a couple of very nice sound systems in the Momo household. One is for the home theater and the other is a two channel gem that took years to put together. It includes an outboard Theta Digital DS Pro Basic IIIa. You don’t have an outboard DA? No worries, use you digital receiver in the home theater system.

This past Christmas, I was looking for a present for myself (of course you were!). I called a “local” Wadia dealer 20 miles away and ordered one. It had to be back ordered. I also called over to Wadia and asked them what they estimated the lead time would be? I was told they were on a boat from China due any day. With outstanding reviews for the 170i I suspected I may not get one from this slow boat. I canceled the order for the new one and went to AudiogoN to see if a used one was available. I pulled one down for $30o. Nice!

With compressed files (MP3 and the Apple equivelent) it sounds OK. With music recorded w/o compression or more quality friendly compression (Applelossless + others) it sounds as good as the original CD!!!! Others more worthy agree…Stereophile and Engadget are two.

Warning: If you have an older ipod (like my wife’s mini) it will not work. The 170i is compatible with all current ipods and:

• All iPod Nano Models
• The iPod Classic Models
• iPod Video Generation 5 (Limited Functionality)
• Also the New iPod Touch/iPhone Models

Please make sure you check on the Wadia site before purchasing.

Tony Momo - Go forth digital man!

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