My PerfectWave dac is working!

Call Boulder tommorow. They will probably have suggestions.

Try a cold reboot to renew the handshake.

There have been multiple DACs labelled PerfectWave for over a decade.  You're going to have to be specific.

How do you select inputs on the DAC?  And have yo tried optical?

I assume thats PS Audio not Boulder. And yes try all of the inputs you can it may be a bad input. Also is there a mute feature that may be engaged?

Yes it’s a PS Audio PWD. Thank you for getting back to me. I’ve already rebooted the dac several times. I’ve tried several different inputs. Volume is 100%.

I select the coaxial input. I’ve tried rca and xlr out but still no sound. 

Is there a built in volume control??

Did you call PS Audio?  They pride themselves on customer service. So says Paul at least. 

No I’ve not tried another cd transport. It’s less than a month old. I should try a different coaxial cable. And if that doesn’t work call PSA. 

Yes, the dac worked perfectly before with an integrated tube amp. Now I’m trying to connect separates and it’s not working. 

There are more than one PS Audio Perfectwave.

If it’s a Directstream mk 1 there is a small blue connection screen in the middle of the main screen. This has to show a RCA/coax image (in your case) with a green light (for the handshake) Without both you get nothing.

What did PS say?

I’m calling PSA in a few minutes. It’s the MKII version of the original PWD. It’s not a DSD, unfortunately.  I can’t spend $4k plus for a dac. 

The transport worked perfectly with the PSAudio MKII dac prior to attempting to connect separates. It’s a Cambridge Audio CXC V2 transport. 

PS Audio can’t help. I’ve got no sound with the phono preamp connected to the preamp and monoblocks either.

I’m at a loss. I don’t have another preamp, or amplifiers, to insert into the system to attempt to see what the problem is. Right now I’ve zero sound. I’m wondering if the issue is the amps 12AX7 tubes.

None of the four 12AX7 tubes light up. Should they? They’re lukewarm to the touch. I’ve 4 new tubes on order.

What preamplifier? 

So you're getting no sound from your system at all from any source? Can you hear anything hiss, hum, any system noise? Tubes going bad shouldn't give you a complete and total loss of sound. That scenario almost always turns out to be user error.

Threshold T3i preamplifier xlr 

Primaluna Prologue 6 monoblocks rca

PS Audio PerfectWave MKII dac xlr

PS Audio Phono preamplifier xlr

VPI Prime Turntable

Cambridge Audio CXC V2 transport coax

Martin Logan Summit X Loudspeakers

From dac to pre via xlr. From pre to monoblocks via rca because the monoblocks are only rca.

The CD player is only a transport. I don’t play MP3’s, only redbook cd’s. 

The problem is I’ve no sound from dac direct to monoblocks or from pre direct to monoblocks. All power lights are on.

There is no hiss, no hum, nothing. 

have you tried another digital source into the dac besides the CA Transport? A streamer, or a CD Player, or even a television?

The first step would be to see if the DAC works with other digital sources. If it does then the issue must be the CA transport, or the handshake between the transport and the DAC.

If other digital sources fail to produce sound via the DAC then the problem is potentially the DAC or the Preamp. Does your preamp have an included DAC?

From what I can tell it doesnt, but if so, then...

You could be connecting one DAC to another, and then you wont get sound

Have you actualy produced sound before from the seperate pre and power amp with any other component?  If you haven't then look there first

I think that you are wasting time and money by trying different tubes

No, I recently purchased the pre and the monoblocks. Right now I’ve no sound with them with either the dac or the phono pre. So I’m wondering if the problem is with the pre or the monoblocks. 
 

Initially I thought the issue was with the dac. I had no idea I had no sound between the pre and monoblocks. I’m going to see if I can connect the pre to an integrated later today to see if it works. I’ve no other digital source. 

No, I’m not saying the amps and pre aren’t working. But currently I’ve no sound with either the dac directly connected to the amps, or the dac connected to the preamp, or the phono preamp connected to the preamp and monoblocks. It’s a dilemma I know. Thanks anyway. 

This just happened to me. The Directstream internal volume control defaults at 26.

Use your remote and raise the volume to 100. Make sure your going through your preamp.

It defaults at 26 in case you directly hook it straight up to your power amp.

What inputs are you using on your pre? What inputs do you have the knobs selected to?   Just trying to eliminate the simple stuff. It’s odd that both your sources aren’t working.  

It doesn’t seem like a dilemma to me.  The DAC worked with a different integrated amp.  You never tried anything else with your new separates and somehow decided to blame the DAC, but if the phono preamp also is producing no sound, then the problem seems to be the amps.  

If the preamp is new to you make sure no mute is engaged obviously also do you have RCA cables you can run from the  Dac to preamp? Maybe your balanced input isn't working?

@coltrane1 

Did you say PS Audio won’t help you? That sure doesn’t sound right. They have been incredibly helpful when I have called them.

The dac is currently directly connected to the amps via RCA. There’s no sound. I’ve attempted several inputs on the preamp. Same result. PS Audio attempted to assist. Once they understood that there was no sound when connected to the phono pre either they suggested there’s nothing else they could suggest. Currently I’m at a loss. I’m going to have to get another amp in so I can see if the amps are the problem.

The Dac’s volume has always been at 100%. 

The source is the CXC transport connected to the DAC by Coaxial connection. I have a verified connection to the DAC. 
 

I know, what are the odds both amps aren’t working. It doesn’t make sense. 
 

I’ve checked and rechecked all cable connections to each component multiple times. Still I’ve no sound from either the DAC or the phono preamp, OR with the Preamp connected in the loop. Nuthin! Amps are on now with new tubes all around. Still nuthin! Pulling my hair out!

Regrettably, I didn’t get the bridge. I’ll try connecting the usb input, just to cover all bases. It’s connected to my MAC. 

I just connected the USB input to the DAC running to my computer. Not a sound.

Do you have a friend or relative who has a working system that would let you bring the DAC over and see if it works there?

Unfortunately not locally. But since I’ve no sound with the preamp and phono preamp either, I now feel the problem isn’t the dac, it’s elsewhere. But I haven’t a clue how to track down the source of the problem.

No, it’s not “broken.” It’s simply a gremlin. What the cause is is uncertain.  I don’t have a CD player, only a transport. I’m using the cable that came with the transport., so it’s correct. I’m using rca to connect monoblocks. 

If it is the DAC, there is an easy cheap fix. There are many folks that have PWD MK2 digital and analog boards hanging around being used as door stops. They are left over from conversion to Directstream. I had a problem with my PWD MK2 and placed a WTB add. There is DIY video made by PS Audio on how to remove and replace the circuit cards. I think I paid $300 for the circuit cards, but since they are useless to their previous owners could likely get for less then the cost to ship your unit to PS Audio.  

@georgeab thank you I’ll look into that!

No, the lock light remains green on the dac when the cxc is in standby. I assumed because it’s selected as the source. 
 

I’ve yet to hear the monoblocks with the ML’s. They arrived 3 weeks ago, but I had to wait for a preamp to arrive. Prior to that I was listening to a tube integrated. But since the amps and pre arrived I’ve had no sound. 

The dac does the identical thing with the usb connection. If my computer is off the dac still displays a green dot with a blue light on the dac. Why, because a usb connection is made on the PWD. 
 

The fact that I also have zero sound with the phono pre connection means something else is happening, other than the dac. What, I haven’t a clue.
 

I’ve a pair of class a monoblocks on the way. If they don’t work, at least I know that the problem isn’t the tube amplifier’s, which I’m not suspecting anyway.