When I first saw a picture of the PS Audio PWT transport I did not think too kindly of it, as it appeared to be formed plastic but with reading the PS Audio website info on it, it made good electronic sense to me.
Reading the disc via a ‘read till right’ program – in other words, it does not automatically implement ‘error code correction’ (ecc) programming when misreading a disc, instead it reads and rereads the disc up to 100 times (not utilizing the drive cache) before resorting to ecc. Once this data is extracted from the disc it is sent to RAM memory where it is stored for a brief period. This middle storage point separates the disc from the transport’s output, thereby allowing for rereading till right data (explained above) and eliminates timing errors (by reclocking the data from this point forward, instead of using the clocked data stream directly read from the disc). This memory buffer does not manipulate or change the disc data at all – it’s still what was on the disc, only now more accurate in content and more accurate in timing. This is the data output.
Anyway, after being explained this info by Paul McGowan and Ryan Conway, I was intrigued enough to buy one. First off, I can say that I pleasantly surprised and happy to report that the transport is not made of plastic, its either aluminum or steel, and it is heavy and well damped. But, the remote is made of plastic and is pretty cheap feeling – oh well. There is no buttons on the unit, all input is either via remote or via a touch screen on the unit. The touch screen is a nice touch (couldn’t resist;) – it allows for operation but also displays disc title and song name with album cover art (if the unit is connected to your internet).
But enough with the side show stuff – what does it sound like? House keeping first - I have about 348 hours on it now, it sets ontop of Symposium Rollerblocks,, I’m using a Grover Huffman Sc AES/EBU digital line to my custom Audio Note DAC, and I’m using an Grover Huffman Sx power cable. The rest of my system consists of Atma-Sphere MP-3 pre and MA-1 amps and Quad 988 esl’s. This consists of the base line and comparisions are made against a Accustic Arts Drive 1 mk1 transport.
Now then;
Most obvious is a total lack of digititis – no etching, no “over emphasized” sharp edges, no glare. Instead, you get a VERY organic sound, but mind you, it’s not bloated, softened, or rounded – the best description is ‘natural’. Significantly more liquid than the Accustic Arts.
A dramatic increase in soundstage and dimensionality. Instruments are spread out with plenty of air and space around them. Open air, breath. Whole stage depth presented. Much more extension in my sound stage width, now uncannily extends beyond the sidewalls.
Articulate and detailed, but again no etch or glare. Fast. Slam. Tight. Rhythmic. We have moved beyond toe-tappin’ and have entered the butt shakin’ realm. Very lively. No fatigue.
All is well extended in both directions, bottom to top. Nothing is bloated or sharp. – sonically very clear and focused. Micro and macro detail is really expressed nicely. But, the noise floor is bit higher than the Accustic Arts – not a totally “black” background. Lastly, on very busy passages, I detect a bit of grain – only on pieces very busy with treble (concurrent multi cymbals, highhat, triangles, +).
Putting it all together - Horns, bongos, vibes are holographic / 3 dimensional. Brass horns are “brassy” but not bright or shrill, instead mellow and sexy. Cymbals are crisp and have realistic brassy lingering overtones. Toms and snare are stout. Strings are beautiful and radiate mellow woodtones. While bass is deep and distinguishingly tonefull. Woodwinds are richfully hollow and resonate, Voices are lively, relaxed, and human. Again, my notes continuously go back to “organic” and “natural”. Very ‘smile on your face’!!!
Overall, I find myself really amazed. The PS Audio is literally 1/3rd the price of my Accustic Arts but is truly much more musical. Personally, I think it’s power supply could be cleaner but this does not distract from the organic sounds elicited – actually reminds me of good analogue. The PS Audio is without a doubt a giant-killer for its price-point and I feel I can recommend it without hesitance.
I am wonderfully happy with how well it has synergized and complimented my custom Audio Note DAC. Lastly, I should note, the PS Audio has read every disc I have placed in it without a single stoppage -- can't say that with Phillip's drive based transports.
I'm starting to wonder if the PWT & PWD extract so much, sharp detail that the little flaws in the CDs are now glaringly in the spotlight at almost the same level as the music. If I hook my old equipment back up, (Sony 9000es dvd player, TEAC 501 dac with a W4S Reclocker) and listen close, I can hear the distortion in the vocals, but at a very much reduced level. I almost have to be listening for the distortion. With the PWT and PWD the distortion is at an "In your face" level. I have replaced, bypassed, substituted and otherwise isolated every piece of equipment and/or length of wire in my system - and I'm on my forth go-round with all this. I'm ready to start pulling hair. I'm starting to wonder if the PSA equipment is so detailed it magnified the flaws in many of my favorite CDs (especially the remasters) and now that I know those flaws are there, I can't unhear them and go back to where I was before the PSA equipment.
Very interesting. We have a very similar problem. I just call PSA this afternoon & they are, indeed very helpful. They are helping to set me up eith the latest & greatest software upgrades. Yeah, the problem really started when I got the PWD. Lots of distortion at higher volume levels, when the tracks get busy. Give me a single voice and everything is all good. Add more voices and distortion enters the picture. Turn up the volume a bit more and the distortion makes me worry about my Magnepan speakers blowing out the tweeters. The interesting thing is the PWD has an output volume level control. PSA says to set it at max - 100% to get the best quality sound, but when I do that, that is when I get the most distortion. If I turn down the PWD to 75% and my Bryston preamp up higher, I get much less distortion.
@toolbox, that's very interesting about your distortion issue. Was everything fine before you added the PWD? Are you running the latest firmware version? I have found the PS Audio forum to be of great help troubleshooting problems, also some very nice dudes there.
I'm using the PWT with the Nuwave DSD DAC via I2S, which sounds very nice, but I experience distortion on loud peaks. It's not due to jitter since a string quartet can sound relaxed and realistic, but a symphonic crescendo or loud R&R peaks will sound distorted. I was assured that the transport would not cause this, so I'm replacing the DAC.
The service by PSA was very fast and was treated with real professionalism. The new transport works nicely.
How you do'in with you PWT? Hope things are running very well for you. I had a devil of a time incorpoating the PWD into my system. What started out as "a little weak on the bottom and somewhat shrill in the upper ranges" turned into,"weak on the bottom and distorted on top". Took me all this time to get it back to satifactory sounding. Nowadays, CD production tends to push the strength and volume of vocals very hard, a little into the "red" zone. Especially, when three or more voices are singing a chorus. Pushing a chorus of vocalists into the red zone will add a little extra buzz and excitement to the song - sounding like a larger, more robust chorus. Unfortunately, my PWD was interpreting the little bit of buzz/distortion as an additional voice. So instead of getting John, Paul, & George plus a little buzz on top, what I got was John, Paul, George, and Ringo, on a day when Ringo had a terrible cold - but still insisted on singing. I had an addition vocalist that crackled on the recordings that I could point to. "There he is". This was especially noticeable on groups with male singers and notably on remastered recordings. I love the midranges of mastered recordings but not distortion. I actually stopped listening to music unless I had a new piece of equipment to try out to see if it could help tame the beast. Power cords, interconects, speaker wires, speaker replacement, different EQ curves, etc, etc, were all incorporated. It all helped a little and then I got in some upgraded fuses this week. Along with the rest of the new equipment, the fuses finally put the sound back on the right track. It's still not perfect, but it's close enough that yesterday, I was able to enjoy listening again. I put two Padis fuses in the PWD and one SR black fuse in the PWT. The Padis fuses help remove a little of the distortion without taking away the midrange or the treble. The black fuse really helped with the distortion, but SR fuses tend to throw a veil over the midrange and treble and this fuse is no exeption. I can learn to live with it though. It's awfully close to being where I want it to be. Did you get your difficulties figured out? I see you're looking for a NOS DAC.
Since taking the top off of a Perfectwave PWT or DAC is 90% of the job of changing fuses in these units, just google "ps audio perfectwave fuse". One of the first sites you’ll see demonstrates (with writing and pictures) how to remove the top and change fuses in the Perfectwave Transport and/or Perfectwave DAC.
Toolbox, did you buy the PWT new, refurbished, or used? If you are planning to change the drive, you will likely void the warranty. My PWT is a refurbished unit and the transport was loud and often would not eject. I had the transport/drive replaced under warranty, and it is clearly an upgraded device. It is faster, better quality (but still plastic) and quieter. The only sound I hear is a low-level "whine" when the drive is reading the disk.
Lowrider, I just recieved my Perfectwave DAC to go along with my PWT and my results are a little mixed. While the PWT was a healthy improvement over my Sony 9000es the DAC didn't improve my sound that much over my TEAC 501 with added W4S Remedy Reclocker. For me the DAC upgrade from the 501 equaled a fuse upgrade in a component that only provided a minor improvement. Nevertheless, I am happy. Along with my garden variety I2S cord I was able to find a good, used Shunyata HDMI cord to try. The Shunyata is a little long and will eventually be used to hook up my DVD to my TV, but I'll try it out for sound and let you know what I hear. Grateful, I am having a noise problem with the units -which I suspect is coming from the PWT. At very quiet moments I can hear a soft "scraping" sound. I'm guessing it might be the disk going round and round. I looked up the Lite-On HDS118 you mentioned and it seemed to be too inexpensive (like about $20, if I remember correctly). I'm wondering if I didn't have the correct part or the whole assembly. Also, could you please describe more fully what you did (and where) with the Dynamat padding and the cable shielding?
Initially, I'll just use a garden variety I2S HDMI cord - a Silverback 2.0 Premium. I'm not sure how much bang for the buck you get from higher quality HDMI cords, and I just wanted to get something here fast so I'm not waiting for a cord when the DAC arrives.
Did you find your PWT to be a little light in the lower extremities when you first hooked it up? Mine had lots of detail but no muscle behind the music. I'm just lucky I'm not a purist - I use an equalizer in my setup. I ended up raising the sliders from 64 Hz up to 320 Hz up one notch, which returned the slam and the ambiance I was previously used to getting.
Well done, Toolbox. I agree with you regarding the sound with the stock fuses. I have found that different power cords have an effect on sonics, and also on the DAC. Are you using the I2S connection and if so, what cable?
Looks like we're on a parallel path here. I liked my new PWT so much that I threw financial caution to the wind and bought a PerfectWave II. A few more power chords and interconnects, and now I'm going to get off the improvement train for a while. After listening to my setup with just the standard fuses in the PWT I don't feel any desire to upgrade the fuses at all. It sounds 'just right' now, so no need to fix what definitely isn't broken. I have enough boutique fuses in all my other equipment that I can always adjust my sound changing those other fuses or by rolling a couple of tubes.
Hi Toolbox, I didn't try to change the fuse. Reason being it's a real pain in the ass. There are instructions on the PS Audio forum, it involves popping the top cover, unhooking a ribbon cable, wearing a grounding-strap, then accessing 2 fuses.
I did have my unit serviced under warranty and fuses were replaced and an upgraded transport was installed, also new firmware. It works so well now with the upgrade, that I'm happy with it.
I just purchaced a PS Audio PWT and I'm wondering (after I decide if I like it) if there are any replacement parts I should think about stockpiling - just in case. These things are getting a little old and if there is a part or two that I should grab now, because they are the most likely parts to break down, maybe I'll do that. A little redundancy never hurts. Then again, maybe these thing are built like little tanks and no one or two parts can be identified as, "most likely to fail". Thanks, Toolbox
Lowrider , It is wonderful that Al was able to solve your problem. I didn't know what the issue involving the PWT was. I just knew what you described is the antithesis of what I've heard this excellent transport provide. Charles Wasson
@charles1dad , Charles, I can now safely say that the PWT combined with the PS NuWave DAC is providing me with outstanding digital. "Exceptionally open, resolved, transparent but best of all very natural sound"... I copied your statement since it now applies to me.
BTW, did you replace the fuses in your unit with SR? Thanks.
Thanks for the nice words, Jim. Glad I was helpful.
Regarding the I2S via HDMI connection you'll eventually be using, for several reasons I wouldn't be surprised if the ground loop issue is no longer present. But I can't say that with any kind of certainty.
Hi Al. We’re so lucky to have you here as a consultant. Using a cheater plug has resulted in clarity and low-end extension in my music. Thank you.
If you recall, you diagnosed a ground-loop in my system whereby the ARC CDP (using unbalanced) had a harshness to it and a Jensen Isomax was the solution. After buying a Brick Wall conditioner, the CDP seemed to be unaffected by grounding conditions and has sounded terrific. It’s interesting that placing the PS Audio in the same position as the ARC has resulted in noise from a ground loop.
Do you think I will need the cheater plug when using HDMI from transport to DAC? Thanks, Jim
Lowrider, a simple experiment which might be worth trying is to temporarily put a cheater plug on the power plug of either the transport or the DAC, to defeat its safety ground connection. Given especially that you're using an unbalanced coax interconnection, it's conceivable that electrical noise resulting from a ground loop between the transport and the DAC may be contributing to the issues you mentioned, by causing jitter at the point of D/A conversion and/or by affecting analog signals further downstream. Defeating the safety ground connection of one of those components would break any such ground loop.
Thanks Charles. I've emailed PS Audio, but wanted to see what owners have to say. Since it's factory refurbished, I'm wondering if caps were replaced and it needs some burn-in time. My DAC is the entry-level PS Audio (not at the level of the Yamamoto), but my baseline with the ARC transport provided open and transparent sonics. Like you, I seek a natural, organic sound. Thanks for your comments.
All I can report is a very different experience in my case as the PWT has been wonderful in the 6 years I've had mine. Exceptionally open, resolved, transparent but best of all (for me) very natural sound. My listening impressons pretty much match what grateful has described. Utterly dynamic and emotionally involving in my system mated to the Yamamoto YDA-1 DAC. No explanation to offer as to such polar outcomes.
I'm pleased to see this thread resurrected. I purchased a factory refurbished PWT and it looks brand new, but I have a question regarding it's performance. I have ordered an Audioquest HDMI cable, but until it arrives I am using an Oyaide coax cable running to my PS Nuwave DSD DAC. The PWT sounds veiled (lacking transparency) with poor bass extension. It reproduces a good separation of instruments and detail, a wide soundstage, but pales in comparison to my ARC CDP as the transport. The ARC is much more dynamic, has 3D imaging, and sounds more realistic, although some CD's have a digital edge to them.
I let the PWT run-in with a test disk for 24 hours, but the sonics I'm hearing are similar to new tubes that have not been fully burned-in. Is this because I'm not using the I2S connection or some other reason? Any feedback from PWT owners would be appreciated.
Bit the bullet and ordered a refurb unit PWT and a DS Junior today. The sucky part is the wait for it to deliver lol. I guess it gives me time to make room in my rack and clean up the listening room. I also need to order a decent HDMI cable for the I2S connection :-) I will post initial observation and update periodically.
@grateful, thanks for your updates. Please continue to update us. Thanks too for the info re: replacement drive. Maybe I should buy a few now to stockpile huh? :-)
I purchased used PWT and PWD's a couple of months ago. They are about 5 years old and haven't been updated since the original owner purchased them new from PS Audio. They sound great and I couldn't be happier......unless maybe with the Directstreams?
Questions for those of you with more experience with these units. The cd transport seems noisy at times but it doesn't bother me from my listening position over 14' away. Something I should be concerned about? I didn't realize leaving cd's in the tray overnight was an issue. What problems does that cause? I'm quite guilty of that! Storage vault? Please don't tell me I need a vault for my cd's! Lastly, I've been considering ripping my cd's onto a laptop and play my music from it. I believe I just need the bridge for the PWT to do so? Thanks for your help.
Mine is one of the first generations and I have never "up graded" the software - because I heard that one of the software upgrades decreased the usable RAM for music playing... so I never upgraded the software. The only issue I ever had was the one described above, where as the drive would not eject. No problems since I replaced the drive. But I have never left a disc in it over night. I am very very picky over the safe protection of my music, so as soon as I am done listening the CD goes right back into my storage vault, yes, vault.
Hello, my pwt has froze a couple of times in the 5 or 6 years I have had it but it is not much of a problem to just turn it off and then back on. It is a very nice transport otherwise
augwest I am sorry that you're having this trouble. I have used the PWT in my system for over 6 years and haven't encountered this problem. Mine is obvious an older version. I wonder how common this malfunction is. You'd think that this could be corrected. Charles,
My PWT sounds wonderful with my 32-bit STARS Audio Aero SE tube DAC, which is the Capitole SE without the transport.
However the unit I bought brand new
freezes up whenever I leave a CD in it, even for under an hour. I sent it to PS Audio for repair
under warranty and, while the found and fixed another problem with it,
they refused to fix the bug that causes it to freeze up. PS Audio Customer Service Manager Alex Paananen told me that each and
every one of these units locks up if you leave them on with a CD inside,
and the only thing you can do is cycle the power using the On/Off
switch on the back of the unit. He also told me that there was no
timetable for fixing the bug. Does everyone else have the same problem?
In my humble opinion, a CD transport that costs $3999 should at least work out of the box,
and if it doesn't the manufacturer should fix it or replace it - no
excuses. I
won't do business with a company that releases a "state of the art"
product that sells for several thousand dollars with obvious design
flaws, such as PS Audio. Your mileage may vary.
I have been enjoying my PWT for many years. May I suggest that if your system is well developed and can use better cables an upgrade will produce even better results from your PWT.
Several of you stated that you wondered if there was a better transport than the PWT... Well, I have not heard the top Esoteric, or the MBL, or several of the other 10K + transports. I can say that my PWT replaced a Accustic Arts Drive 1, which the PWT totally destroyed the Accustic Arts. I too have thought about other ultra-high end transports but as Stevecham stated; there is nothing else out there that does what the PWT does... meaning that, only the new MSB and the Memoryplayer spins the disc, saves a bit to RAM, and then plays from RAM. I believe this is what makes the most significant difference. Now there is probably room for improvement... probably in parts quality (i.e. Black Gate caps, and so forth) or maybe not... I notice that when I opened mine up, seems like the power supply was rather whimpy but maybe since it's not doing anything but running digital extraction it does not matter... don't know. I can say this though, I have had increasing problems with the PWT not wanting to eject a CD - been getting worse and worse over the last year or so, recently becoming very frustrating. Thus, I decided to replace the DVD drive within it. After contacting PS Audio support and speaking about several techical aspects I decided to NOT go with a replacement Sampsung DVD drive (from PS Audio), instead I got a Lite On DVD drive for it. Why??? Supposedly, in the computer world, the Lite On is a better drive and offered several things like SMART-X which varies the drive speed to optimize data extraction, ABS mechanism to reduce vibration & noise while high speed rotating, and a belt driven drawer control with cast metal parts (the Sampsung was plastic parts) - sounded good to me... So that's what I bought and for half the price of what PS Audio wanted the Samsung for. The Lite On works perfectly. When I installed the new drive I also added Dynamat thick dampening material to the drive top and bottom, along with some cable shielding. The result is stellar - music is more articulate in the micro dynamics with blacker backgrounds and the drive ejects the CD without issue... Not night and day differences, minute but still noticeable -- I couldn't be more pleased. So maybe there is some room for improvement. BTW replacing the drive was as easy as turning a few screws and plugging 2 wires.
I have been very pleased with my PWT too and it destroyed all of my regular throwaway dvd players. But there's MSB, BMC, and others and I'd be very curious how they compare.
There really is nothing else out there like the PWT, and for that reason, it is an end point for CD playback for me. However, until you have heard playback from it via the I2S interface, that keeps the three clocking signals separate and discreet, you will not fully appreciate what this transport is capable of. But only PS Audio or Wyred4Sound currently offer DACs that are compatible with this connectivity. Compared to any other (Tos, UB etc, that combined the clocks and then re-separate them at the DAC) the improvment is profound. The staging alone is so much higher, wider and deeper with I2S.
Great to find this thread again and nice to see y'all still enjoying the PWT. I still have mine in front of a Lampizator L4G4. I have been recently wondering what I would have to spend to beat the PWT but maybe I should just leave it and concentrate elsewhere...
The wonders of human hearing eh? But it sort of makes sense when you think that our ability to discern directionality via extremely small timing changes in sound allowed us to survive and evolve over millions of years. No wonder we invented music.
After having the PWT/W4S combo in place for two weeks now connected via Audioquest Carbon I2S, I am convinced that this form of connection is what in large part provides that extra level of detail and depth. From what I understand the I2S allows the three clock signals to remain discreet from the PWT to the DAC without having to first combine them prior to ouput and then separate per input as in USB, toslink or coax. Can you imagine, in fewer than 20 years we went from microsecond to femtosecond jitter, a million fold improvement.
I am looking to add the new PS Audio DS DAC to my system next year. I have the NAD M51 at the moment which is a great DAC -- a sleeper that performs far, far above its price point.
Sabai, I feel the same as you. I've had my PWT -Yamamoto DAC combination four years and probably will for another 10-15 years. They make beautiful and involving Redbook CD music. A good friend uses the PWT with his Lampizator DAC with the same beautiful results. Charles,
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