PS Audio PWD MkII vs W4S DAC2

am yet to hear a DAC that beats my PWD MKII any where near its price point. the few much higher priced competitors i've heard don't best it either. when considering all the gear i've ever purchased...the PWT/PWD is the only thing i've never had a 2nd thought about. as already mentioned...the MKII upgrade takes it to yet another level. add I2S and the bridge/network playing capability to the equation and it's a home run/grand slam in my book.

do give it a listen. i think you'll agree.

Mr Tennis is spot on imho. I'd go one step further and specify/consider connection type and cabling. Sgr put it perfectly a few years ago when he said the pwd was " cameilian like"......or sensitive to its surroundings.

I found the pwd responded to even the slightest of tweaks/adjustments and changes. It's the first piece of gear I've owned where improved vibration control actually became audible and easy to detect. Connection type and wire are even more so.

You can make this dac sound any way you via supporting cast. The dac itself does/adds nothing to the recording (which could be bad for poor recordings). But for good recordings and hi res, I'm yet to hear a more musical dac.

Getting the pwd1 and not upgrading it to mk2 should be considered a crime =)

Yes....the mk2 sounds that good!

i'll second Vhiner's comments and take it one step further. my PWDII/Bridge/PWT are the most sensitive pieces of gear i've ever owned. power supply, power cords, fuses and vibration/isolation all made substantial improvements in sound...when similar upgrades were much harder to notice in the rest of my set-up.

went into the fuse upgrade thinking no way could this work....walked away completely impressed. just like dedicated power lines, PC's and a nice rack.... the sound just kept getting better!.

break in was incredibly long (300-500 hours). thought i was there after 300 hours as things were sounding really good. then....200 hours later....it was sounding even better??. you will know when you get there =)

also...don't forget to use CAT 6 or 7 Ethernet cables. they made a difference for me as well (yep...i know this is crazy).