WADAX ATLANTIS REFERENCE LEVEL VIII AT KJ WEST ONE WITH BOYER AUDIO
On September 25th, Wadax held a listening event at KJ West One in London, which was the UK and Europe’s first listen to the complete Wadax Atlantis Reference Level VIII system paired with Magico M7 speakers.
The full Wadax Atlantis Reference Level VIII system consisted of their DAC, Server, PSU, Transport, Transport PSU and Akasa cabling, amplification was provided by the Soulution 7 series. This presentation formed part of the ’60 Years of KJ West One’ celebrations and was organised with Wadax UK distributor Boyer.
KJ WEST ONE LONDON
KJ West One is a high-end audio and visual retailer based in London, specialising in premium HiFi equipment and bespoke sound systems. Their central London showroom provides a dedicated space for private demonstrations and expert consultations. In addition to sales, KJ West One offers custom installation, servicing, and system design, catering to audiophiles and luxury lifestyle clients seeking exceptional sound performance.
WADAX
Wadax is family-run audio engineering company based in Madrid, Spain and headed up by Javier Guadalajara, dedicated to redefining digital and analogue music playback at the highest level. With an uncompromising focus on innovation, precision, and musicality, they design and manufacture world-class digital front ends, including DACs, transports, servers, and all-in-one systems.
WADAX ATLANTIS REFERENCE LEVEL VIII SYSTEM
The Wadax Atlantis Reference VIII kit is their flagship range, the DAC alone has 23 PCB’s, 10 independent transformers and over 5,500 discrete parts – in a fully dual-mono setup with completely independent L/R components and analogue circuitry. Their server has some impressive tech, such as their Digital Waveform Control – a feed-forward error correction system that compensates for time, amplitude, and phase errors in the D/A conversion path. They have their proprietary AKASA cabling system for the best data transfer using optical connection, and their separated PSU’s further increase the systems potential via a precision machined, segmented and mechanically damped tri-part chassis to minimise any noise. They have paid particular attention to the ground quality too, both inside and outside the PSU and engineered the reversal of electrical phase at the input. They were using solid silver AKASA DC Reference cables between the PSU’s and Transport/Server and DAC – this cable alone took 2-years to develop.
The CD transport comes with different CD clamps, which allows you to use different materials to tailor the sound to your personal preference and system. That’s a lot of engineering and tech to ensure your digital audio is delivered in the best way possible – how does it sound though?
Well, Wadax are big believers in CD, and that it sounds better compared to streaming. So, they did a comparison between their server and CD transport – both running into the same DAC. CD really does trump streaming in this setup, with a more natural and effortless sound, guitars have more body to them, vocals are less sharp, and the overall sound has more depth and definition. This setup highlights the black background of the components used, not a hint of noise from anything in the system and the dynamics of the tracks handled with absolute ease.
This is a system that handles dynamic shifts without missing a note, utter silence when required, whilst delivering plentiful punch and impact. The Doors – Riders on the Storm was played, and the depth to the soundstage was thoroughly impressive, as was the L/R separation, giving you pinpoint imaging and accurate placement of the instruments.
During the evening, we listened to a huge variety of music through the Wadax transport/DAC setup, using both CD and SACD, and the overwhelming feeling was that this was an incredibly natural and organic sounding setup. It’s possibly the closest to analogue sound you can get from a digital based system, it has been developed in such a way as to present music in a totally musical and engaging way. The timbre, the placement, the space, and detail are all presented in such an effortless way.
A big thank you to Boyer, KJ West One, and Wadax for putting on this excellent listening event.
Oscar Stewart
Additional photography by Kelly Bowden
