PS Audio - PWD - Perfect Wave DAC

[reverendo]

kana813 and barrows,

thanks for the additional input.

I was assuming that the PWD had channel balance. That's a pity,since I don't have a dedicated listening space and it sometimes comes in handy just to alter balance without having to necessarily try to do it with the speakers.

how does the redbook play hi-rez?

thanks in advance

André

 

[kana813]

Jesus- "has anyone tried the PWD in native mode above 24/96 via SPDIF or AES?"

 

Before I got my I2S cable, I used AES between the PWT

and PWD. The SQ with the RR 24/176 recordings I have is excellent.

 

Barrows- I guess I'll have to start complaining about the volume display. To me,displaying album artwork is useless.

 

reverendo- "how does the redbook play hi-rez?" It doesn't.

 

 

[reverendo]

thought one thing, typed another:

how does the transport play hi-rez?

 

[barrows]

is a true memory player. It can play CDs, and data DVDs. With data DVDs it is compatible with wav files. So you can place a data DVD in the drive with wav files, and they will play, all the way up to 24/192. It has extremely low jitter output, as it uses fixed frequency oscillators, clocking the data out of a large memory buffer. The transport does RUR, going back and re-reading until an effor free read is made, then it dumps the data (no clock, just raw data) into the memory.

 

[mr_bill]

The teeny weeny volume display drove me nuts and was one of the reasons I sold it. I hated having to look at an idevice to see the volume and adjust it.

 

The PW Dac is a good dac - the BADA is a better dac unless you don't like as much resolution. The Bridge is ok and does work as intended, just not to the level of hype that I anticipated.

 

Kana, I wish I had a pair of Sophia 3s!

 

[input username here]

I think that the PWD is actually very good and, as was mentioned above, the firmware changes to the Bridge have made a MASSIVE difference (progressively for the better) in its sound. I was very surprised at this, given that it was a "Lense" device and thus (I would think) network jitter shouldn't have made it to the DAC chips....

 

I have no experience with the BADA; the highest-end DACs with which I have lived at length (not just listed to at shows) were a few successive generations of EMM Labs DACs. These were without doubt superior to the PWD (at least when paired with EMM Labs transports over AT&T optical). The EMM Labs had/has a presentation that I find difficult to describe... like an onrushing current of music. They are both dynamic and smooth at the same time; both irresistible and yet they also set the listener at ease. I've never heard any component of any kind with which I was so taken (except, maybe, mbl speakers). But at 3x the price (!), I'd still say that the PWD might be the better *value*, esp. given its impressive feature-set.

 

BTW, I am selling my PWD/Bridge/AC-10 pwer cord combo at Agon right now (username "Phatboy"). Why am I selling it if I love it so much? I am buying a prepro (Smyth) and can just cannot afford both. It was a very, VERY tough decision, but the Smyth does things that simply outweigh the benifit of having a great DAC.

 

... and I agree with mr_bill that the "teeny weeny" volume control sucks--I was one of those on the PSA forums lobbying hard for a larger volume control display. Still, for me, this is very a minor problem with an otherwise great product. --BTW, the PWD Mk II is coming out (Mk Is are upgradable, $800.00) that will (1) have a balance control (nice!) (2) asynch 24/192 USB (finally!) and (3) an upgraded, Lensed input board for all digital I/Os (why the Lense was left out to begin with I do not know!).

 

[mr_bill]

Hi,

An update:

I have sold the BADA and repurchased the PW Dac w/Bridge when I heard about the MK II update which I have ordered.

The PW Dac is really an outstanding dac and my impressions of it now are much more favorable and am eagerly awaiting the MK II upgrade.

 

[Priaptor]

Did you sell their Series II or the older one?

 

I also owned a PS Dac but got tired of the Bridge issues. I always enjoyed the sound, particularly with the PWT, which I think is their best product, unfortunately, with little demand these days.

 

I think Paul made the right decisions tackling the issues of the Bridge through his eLyric server and going with Asynchronous USB in their new model. I wish they made their eLyric server issue to deal with gapless sooner than they did. I also wasn't fond of the SQ issues with firmware upgrades of the Bridge hence the reason I started listening seriously with the PWT

 

Their new DAC, with Bridge, is close to 5K, which places it in serious dollar territory but gives it more flexibility than just about any DAC.

 

[mr_bill]

I sold the Series1 and purchased the PW Dac w/Bridge.

I'm excited about the MK II upgrade board. The sound quality of the PW Dac with Bridge is really good, but the Bridge has been somewhat buggy. I think PS Audio is getting that sorted out and gapless has no importance to me, so that is not an issue.

 

[Priaptor]

they will ever get the Bridge issue sorted out with their current board. However, I think it will continue to be a very flexible source for those looking to stream from a server and hopefully they will get it sorted out. Even if it requires a new board, they have and I am sure will always show good faith in an upgrade path as they are now doing.

 

I think they are doing exactly the right thing by incorporating asynchronous USB as it is too good a source to ignore. Additionally, having their Lens technology on all inputs should be a real nice addition.

 

I look forward to hearing what people have to say about it. It is an exciting new and unique product to say the least.

 

[barrows]

Think the Mk. II, with the (XMOS) based async USB is going to be a great option for a lot of folks. Save money without the bridge, and as PS seems very pleased with the way the new input board is performing, I suspect the async USB implementation is going to be really good.

For those looking to save some scratch, buying a used PWD, and ordering the upgrade board while still at the introductory price would be a really good option. Ought to be able to pull this off for under $2.5K or so...

 

[Priaptor]

I owned a PS Audio for a fairly long time and thought, particularly with their transport, was a fantastic sounding piece.

 

They are definitely doing the right thing in my book. They are also taking care of their customers properly.

 

[Bill-w]

I don't know what the price is here in NZ for the MKII is yet, the MKI was around $6K, but I think I am pretty much sold, especially now since the PWD MKII is said to have Asynchronous USB.

 

Anyone tried this DAC with a PSAudio amp? I'm running a GCC250 into some Dynaudio contour s1.4s

 

Thanks