PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC upgrade to DSD?

Good to hear, thanks.  

Lots of good advice, thanks all.  About a year ago, after putting this first system together, I came up with the following long term plan, based in part on other posts and responses and reviews etc, with the goal being to slowly improve SQ altogether and hopefully reduce the high end smear.  I know that the most direct route might be to replace the speakers, but I also wanted to learn through experience how other changes could affect SQ through the Thiels. 

Here's the plan - 
1) upgrade power cords, receptacles, maybe the conditioner.  I have done all I plan to do there, but the posting above might make me reconsider a different conditioner (would love a PS Audio regenerater but I think SQ/$$$ will be relatively low compared to other improvements, at least at this point).
2) Work on room treatments - this is an ongoing work in progress. I have absorption at primary reflection points, including a heavy wool carpet, added isolators for the speakers and components, ditched the rack and coffee table, read some Jim Smith, etc. This has helped tremendously and I've got a few more improvements lined up over the next 4-6 weeks.
3) Upgrade the source (hence this post) to the best in my budget.  I bought the PWD with the DSD upgrade in mind.
4) Don't mess too much with cables, interconnects, or preamp - I think these are fine tuning adjustments best done when the components are in place, kinda the icing on the cake.  Although seriously thinking about a Supra Cat 8 ethernet cable for the DAC's bridge.
5) Either upgrade speakers or the amp - I am leaning toward higher efficiency speakers, but it will take me a while to figure out which ones, Zu, Joseph, Devore are all contenders but I have heard none of them auditioning will be very hard, hence the choice to do #3 first.

cal3713 - talk about striking a chord!  The first response I got when I posted on the Thiel Users thread was an enthusiastic "upgrade your crossovers!"  Tom Thiel (Jim's brother), Beetlemania, a couple other happy modders are fine tuning the design(s) and one day this upgrade might be available through a tbd company or Coherent Source, the post OEM repair/parts/service provider for Thiel.  If I a) had a second pair of speakers and b) knew how to solder, I would be in with two feet bc the trial runs are showing excellent results.

The Thiel thread is one of my favorites - excellent history, design, and anecdotal info re all things Thiel, mostly provided by Tom Thiel himself; lots of good user tips (best amp pairings, how do I fix...., relative virtues of the different models, etc), and although some might perceive small bits of smuggery about the users' preferred speakers, there is NONE of the trolling that sometimes enters into online hifi discussions.  And I have come to trust the listening, interpreting, and writing skills of many of the contributors. Highly recommended and one of the reasons I want to stick with the Thiels!     

All that being said, bummer about the PWD vs DSD - you are the first I have heard having this experience.  What changes for the worse?  

I wish, sadly no, and thanks a bunch for the offer.  You've moved me closer to trying this, some day.

hmmm....thanks for the continuing encouragement....again your advice is nudging me closer to trying.  Still need that second set of speakers tho, else the music dies while the work progresses which would be a very sorry state indeed.

Thanks mike_in_nc, I have looked at the response curve nearly every time someone tells me the speakers are the problem, and yes different speakers are in my future, maybe they should come first but man it’s going to take some traveling to listen and audition, which is going to take some time, and if there’s a patient audiophile out there it sure isn’t me.

re the room, I just got a new chair (geofkaitt convinced me the Poang foam was horrible for acoustics, he was right, if anyone’s keeping score rack one up for the ‘gon’s best jester) and will be building some step diffusers over the next month and keep experimenting with placement of absorption.  I have to make a hard choice re the ceiling - keep a fan or replace it with absorption panels.  Not sure what else I can do in terms of treatments.

So where I have landed for now - better power conditioning, upgrade the Ethernet cable, keep working on treatments etc, hold off on the dac upgrade and start the speaker search.  This should satisfy the demons for a while.  Second pair of speakers will give me a chance to modify the crossovers on the Thiels.  Unless I change my mind along the way.  

When I was shopping for my first set of speakers, which turned out to be the Thiels, I did listen to Harbeth and Dynaudia Special 40s, and they just didn’t have the jump factor or immersive qualities I have heard from bigger speakers.  I was starting from a pair of borrowed Maggies, perhaps it was this reference point?  Re music tastes, yes I do listen to acoustic music more than others but do like to rock out from time to time.  I guess I will earn some audiophile street cred by driving hours to listen to speakers.