Keces 131.2 versus PS Audio Digital Link III

keces, really good for the money and can roll opamps to change sound. Very neutral, well built, no real deficiencies, does not have the bass impact of some of it's competition. Sounded about as good as the Sony 999es transport with a wider soundstage. DLIII is a bit colored, warmish, smooth, relaxed but treble can be a tad dry. Huge soundstage as well. It inverts polarity, correcting it does make it sound a bit different. I prefer it to most of the competition in the <1K category.

I can't say for sure if the PS is an upgrade since I don't know what improvement you are looking for or what you are unhappy with. They are a bit different that's for sure. Some people just don't like upsampling, seems unnatural to them. On some recordings, I don't like the 24/192 upsampling of the ps audio. I am now using a Marantz 7001 as a transport. I would not say the DLIII is better than the 7001, just different. Differences in sub-1K digital gear is subtle at best. The DLIII seems different from the rest because it is obviously colored (voiced) a certain way.

Yes, I would say the DLIII is a step up then, throws a huge soundstage. Another idea would be to try to roll opamps in the 131. The opa627's would work great since you don't need the adapters for them here. I prefered the op604 in the 131, warmer and more bass.