Wadia 170iTransport iPod (White)

by Wadia

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.3 x 1 x 0.3 inches ; 4.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• ASIN: B001KOMM7Y
• Item model number: 170i
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #19 in Camera & Photo > Accessories > Digital Camera Accessories > Docking Stations
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 11, 2008

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wadia 170i Transport: Love it., February 28, 2009

By 

Brad Kava "Brad Kava" (Aptos, Calif, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wadia 170iTransport iPod (White) (Electronics)

This product does what it claims: It turns my iPod into a top-quality stereo component. I listen to music at bedtime on system that costs about $5,000 including a Creek Amplifier, AR speakers, a Rega Planet CD player and a Chroma HDCD DA convertor.

I'm somewhat picky, but not as crazy or rich as some audiophiles. For the most part, this unit is indistinguishable from the Rega Planet, which is a huge, huge step up from just plugging an iPod into an amplifer.
It doesn't have the punch of an HDCD, which I miss on the relatively few discs that use the technology.

But for bedtime music, it's perfect. I hear the instruments wafting through my room with textures that are deep and rich.

The main reason I got it was to clear up clutter of bedroom CDs, and it solved that problem. The sound is good enough so that I can listen to the music without losing the enjoyment in criticizing the sound quality.
That's a huge plus for an iPod, right? And I get the functionality of choosing music by genre, album, performer, from my 10K song 160 gig Classic.

I didn't compare it to its locally produced competitor...but that company sells the same function for $2,000..and you have to send them your iPod so they can rework it. I'd be curious to hear the difference, but can't imagine it's worth five times more.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential equipment for the digital audiophile, September 19, 2009

By 

A Reader "Karl" (North Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wadia 170iTransport iPod (White) (Electronics)

The purpose of the Wadia 170i Transport is to bypass the iPod's cheap internal digital-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier, and to extract and deliver a clean digital signal through a standard S/PDIF coaxial cable (included with the 170i). This cable can be plugged into any receiver, amplifier, or stand-alone DAC with an S/PDIF input.

This capability allows the iPod to become a source for really great sound, provided that (i) the music files stored on the iPod are high quality, such as WAV or Apple Lossless and (ii) that the DAC and other components being used downstream of the 170i are high quality also.

I plugged the 170i into a Grace m902 reference DAC/headphone amplifier and was impressed by what I heard - true audiophile sound coming from an iPod.

It is important to note that not all iPods are compatible with the 170i, although most of the newer models are. So check first!

By the way, Wadia is one of the most renowned manufacturers of high-end (meaning ultra-expensive and ultra-high quality) digital audio equipment. They know what they are doing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, but compatibility issues and poor customer support, November 6, 2010

By 

M.C. "Purposeful parent" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wadia 170iTransport iPod (White) (Electronics)

Before you buy this, check out the 170i iTouch "forums" on Wadia's website. I emailed Wadia to make sure it would be compatible with my new I-Touch, and got no answer. But the local dealer where I bought the rest of my system carried it, and assured me it would be compatible. WRONG. Turns out the latest Apple "upgrades" had some bugs in it that affect the most current models when used with some Docks, including this one. Every few minutes, the music cuts out, like a record skipping. Sounds great between skips though...

Hopefully the next "upgrade" will fix the problem, but right now, THIS DOCK DOES NOT WORK WITH GEN4 I-TOUCH. NOT SURE WHICH OTHER IPODS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM - Wadia isn't saying.

I've always considered Wadia a reputable company. But read the forum for yourself at Wadia.com - Wadia simply went silent when users experienced the problem, then when users got angry, it gave a lame excuse for having ignored the growing problem. I have invested very substantial money in very high end equipment, and I've never seen a high end company ignore customer problems the way Wadia did with the 170i - they usually bend over backwards to service customers. Yes, the problem appears to have been caused by Apple, but should you buy from a company that simply ignores you when there is a problem with its product?

I don't think so. This is the last purchase I will make from Wadia. Fortunately, there are more good options coming out pretty regularly, and a lot of other very good high end audio companies out there.