PS Audio PWD MKII and PWT for $3995. Good deal?

I meant to add.

Go with a dedicated computer if you can. I use a Mac Mini with an i7 Quad Core chip, 16GB RAM, 128GB SSD just for the OS and server software, a Thunderbolt or Firewire external HD for the music files. Use the USB only for your DAC.

Run headless and use a tablet for control and excess. Connect by WIFI by hardwire Ethernet to a wireless router.
It is best for optimal sound to not have a laptop or a TV screen connected.

I also have my SSD boot-camped so I can run server programs that are Mac or Windows based.

A couple of things. PS Audio is selling the pair for that price because it wants to clear out their CD players from their inventory and up the sales of their MKII DAC. Pure and simple. Most of their customers are not using a transport anymore.

Now as to your original question.

Until a few weeks ago I was one of the first to own the PSA PW DAC MKI with Bridge along with the PW Transport and one of the first with the PW DAC MKII. I sold the Transport a while ago to have all my music as a data file on a computer.

The PW MKII sounds great, but now there are other newer DACs that are surpassing it IMHO.

For less money, DSD support, better sound and added features check out the following.

1) The Hilo by Lynx.
2) The e20 MKIII with optional clock by exaSound
3) The Platinum by Antelope Audio

I like these for their sound to price performance.

I have heard the first two and they both sound great but I went with the exaSound. If I had the extra money to spend I would have tried the Platinum vs the e20 in a home demo shootout and bought the better sounding of the two. All of the above have home demo trial periods.

I have the PWD M2 with Audiophileo/PP and Server 2012 headless wih JRiver 19. Sounds just fab and no DAC upgrade in the near future. If you split off the transport I just dont know what would sound better for the money.

Just my 10 cents

Good luck!

Thanks for the description Lwin. Sorry Sunnyngtx, I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

I own a PWT and PWD and think that they sound great, as do many others, but that opinion is worth about 2 cents as to whether you would prefer them over another cd player or DAC. Digital is improving rapidly and there are many worthy contenders for your $.

If your current player sounds harsh or bright at times I think the PWT PWD combo would take care of that problem without causing other problems.

I've gotten to the point where I believe that the only way to know for sure if a component is right for you is to listen to it in your own system, even though I am not able to do that myself.

I own the PWD II dac. I auditioned it against the Bryston BDA 1 & liked it better. I no longer use a CD player. I run everything through my laptop which is a Toshiba with a 520SSD drive, 16 GB ram, Pentium 7 chip & Windows 7. Software is J River & JPLAY. My usb is the latest from Synergistic research which I compared to the best from Audioquest and Wireworld & liked it better. I run an HDMI cable from my laptop to my large screen TV so I can sit back in my Lazy Boy & pick the music I want to listen to.I sold my CD player(Electrocompaniet EMC 1 UP) and recorded everything to the laptop.If I want to play a CD ,I do it through the laptop but it will sound better if I record it first. I am very happy with the PS audio dac . It is easy to use , sounds great & has plenty of different filters so you can tweak it to your taste.

Audiooracle,

Would you please give a little more detail on your computer setup? Is the Gateway a laptop with a touch screen? How do you connect it to your DAC? Is it necessary to have a wireless network set up for it to work? Are you listening to ripped cds or high res files?

TIA

Yes it is a good deal, however, I would ask why is PS selling the stuff for such a low price?

The DAC is good however, there are better wounding newer dacs for less money, the Auralic Vega and the Metrum Hex and if you employ a computer and store your music on the computer you can get even better sound.

I no longer play optical discs, setup is a 21 inch Gateway touch panel computer running Windows 8, J River, J Play and a Wireworld USB.

The convenience of running with a computer is unbelievable, you can find and play music in seconds and the sound is exceptional way better than optical playback.