I am. Moved from W4S DAC2. The PSA is excellent for the money if you buy it used; not so sure at new price. Very versatile, outstanding detail and soundstage, a bit on the Ying side of the musical universe unless you put some BD cones ior the like underneath. That helped considerably. Also reflects good PC's. I do not use bridge.
The other night, I was playing a hi-res version of Diane Krall live concert in Paris and I simply said, "Oh my"! The sound quality and realism was outstanding.
Hope this helps.
Neal |
I bought one a few months back. I was using the Bryston BDA 1 and Benchmark DAC before. The PS audio is quite noticeably better it seems like you get a lot for your money. It sounds really good direct to the amp a bit better than through the preamp for me and I have a really good preamp but I have a vinyl rig so I need the preamp. If you only run digital a perfect wave direct to the amp is a lot of bang for the buck. It's the best most pure DAC I've heard but I've never heard the mega buck models. The other DACs I mentioned are good too and I think most would be happy with their sound too but head to head the perfect wave is clearly better. My 1000 turntable sounds better than all of them though. That pure sound that you get from vinyl is what I can imagine the very hi end DACs would sound like. |
i have an earlier version. i did not upgrade, as i was advised by a representative from the company that i would prefer the original. with the right digital cable, it can sound very full-bodied.
it is also sensitive to power cords. |
IMHO the MK II sounds significantly better then the MK I and I have had both. IMHO it is the best sounding DAC for the money and you would have to spend a lot more to better it.
That being said if anyone has an interest I am selling my PS Audio Perfectwave DAC MK II with Bridge and upgraded Synergistic Research Fuses. It just came back from PSA and has both the digital and analog boards replaced so it is like new with two years and four months of warranty left. reach me at
albythebeach/yahoo |
Hifial,
What did you upgrade to?
Thanks! |
Sgr, I have to sell the PSA DAC first before I can "upgrade".
IMHO the Perfectwave "MK II" is the best sounding DAC for its price point. I feel you have to spend a lot more to get a better sounding DAC.
However until I sell my PSA DAC I would prefer not to say.
Thanks for understanding in advance. |
We will be having a shootout in a couple weeks with the PWDII, M51, Buffalo III, D2 (Anedio) and a Hilo. Will get back when done.
I will say that as of right now, the PWDII is the finest sounding DAC in the under $2.5k budget(used of course). I'm breaking in the Hilo now. Since you've got vinyl, this unit does A/D too. |
the mk1 sounded great when released in 2009....the mk2 sounds even better. am yet to hear any digital front end (anywhere near this price point) that sounds better then the pwt/pwd/bridge.
have not compared it to any of the newer high end dacs but did a/b/c it against two much costlier dacs three years ago (both were Esoteric's from previous years). neither sounded better then the pwdmk1. 2 friend ruled it a tie but i preferred the pwd. not sure if this was a fair comparison as the esoteric units were 1 and 2 year old at the time...while the pwd had only been out 4 months. unfortunately, those were the cards i was dealt.
regardless...you'll need to spend alot more loot to beat this dac imho.
get the mk2....and the bridge if you stream. if you still like spinning disc's...get the pwt as well (perfect match for the pwd). together...they make for a fantastic digi front end that's hard to beat without spending alot more loot. |
Has anyone compared the PSW DAC2 to the Wyred DACs?
I currently own the PW Transport feeding a Wyred DAC1 via Black Cat 75 ohm cable. Im thinking about the PS DAC2 and using the HDMI I2S.
Besides the DAC comparo, what are your feelings on 75 ohm vs I2S?
Thanks
|
Emil, I sold my PW Transport (and I sometimes regret it) before I decided to also sell my PW DAC MK II and I can honestly say they are a match made in haven using the I2S connection. I know of others who have compared the PW MK II and the Wyred DAC1 and DAC2 and as nice as the Wyred are the PW MK II is in another league.
The I2S is a much better why to go then a 75 ohm cable if you have a choice.
If you have the PW Transport do your self a favor and GET a PW DAC MK II, whomever it is from. |
agree with Hifial. i've wanted to ditch my pwt since installing the bridge, but can't bring myself to doing so. system sounds great streaming but when it's time for critical listening...i still reach for the shiny disc's. the pwt/pwd-mk2 combo via I2S connection sounds fantastic. tough to beat period when it come to hi-res burned to dvd imho. |
Emil - the I2S is significantly better on the W4S DAC2 than the USB or S/PDIF inputs. You should be driving it with your transport I2S. Get a good cable, like the HDMI-12 on sale at partsconnexion.com With a USB to I2S converter, it is killer good.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio |
Steve
Unfortunately the Wyred DAC1 does not have an I2S input like the DAC 2 |
I'm late responding to this thread, but I recently picked up a PWD MK II, and I'm loving it.
I had been using an Opus 21 CDP/DAC, sometimes playing from the computer via a HagUSB into the 96 input on the Opus. Now I'm wondering if I'll ever go back.
I'm driving the PWD from a Mac Mini, external disk, via a Stilnote USB cable, direct to a new Spectron Musician III Mk2 amp.
Especially for the price, I couldn't be more pleased with the setup. |
Rhanson, have you tried wireless remote controll of the PWD yet with an iPhone or iPad? |
I'm running eLyric app on my iPhone and iPad to control the PWD. I think due to timeout issues on the iPhone, it's better on the iPad.
I'm using the bridge to access my music on a laptop. A huge improvement in sound quality is using ethernet connection instead of wireless. I ran a Cat5 cable from my office router to my family room where my system resides. |
~
Stickman451,
Well, kinda. I don't have any iOS devices in the house, and I'm not likely to ever get one. (I sometimes feel like the last of a dying breed.)
The Mac Mini runs "headless", and I control it either at my desk with an iMac 27, or, sitting in the zone, with an older MacBook Pro. Using Screen Sharing to the Mac Mini over our WiFi, the only downside is a very slight delay in screen response.
If I need to control the PWD itself, I just use the remote that came with it. |
