PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport/DAC experiences

I am using the Perfect Wave DAC with a Macbook. I purchased from Underwood, where Walter gave me a generous trade on a Musical Fidelity A5 CDP (with Underwood Level 2 mods). I was using a Marsh 2000b, which I sold off and am now going preless into an Odyssey Dual Mono.

Although the trade made it impossible to do an A/B, the PW set up sounds very distinctly better than the A5. Deeper and more articulate bass, better detail, less limited "sweet spot," etc. A more natural sound overall.

Upgrading a stock USB cord to a Locus Design Polestar between MAC and DAC made a noticeable improvement.

I also changed the powercord on the DAC, an entry level PS Audio, to Chris Hoff's new BPT design.

I upgraded the interconnects, Gronneberg RCA, to BPT's new silver interconnect, balanced.

The BPT cables improved things noticeably as well: more detail, better low end, more lifelike -- highly recommended.

In short, I am very pleased indeed with the Perfect Wave DAC. If you are contemplating making the move to "computer audio" -- IMO, an excellent idea -- the Perfect Wave is worth considering.

John

The DAC/Transport sound very good together. The DAC by itself used as a DAC/preamp (with other sources besides the Transport) is OK, but not great. Certainly, I thought my Manley Shrimp preamp + Northstar M192 DAC provided a much better soundstage than the Perfect Wave DAC. Also, keep in mind that if you buy the combo for CD playback, you get bells and whistles that are not necessary if you just want a CD player (the touch screen menus, multiple selectable digital inputs, a digital volume control). One dealer I know who carries both PS Audio and Cary said that he thinks the Cary 303T sounds better than the DAC/Transport, but he still uses the DAC/Transport in his office system because it provides a lot of flexibility. A few months ago, he was referring to the Perfect Wave combo as the best digital playback system under $10K, which in retrospect may have been marketing hyperbole.

i would have to agree with many of comments already made. at this point in time, they perform best as a pair via high quality hdmi connection. although good individually....they really play well together.

i think one of the biggest plus's of this combo is it's ability to play high res audio and dvd audio. this along with soon to be released super server capabilities make the duo a home run imho. however...to someone looking for just cd playback....these features could indeed be unwanted extra's. maybe their funds would be better off spent else where?.

although the selection is rather limited, i've been downloading and burning alot of hi res dvd music lately (24/88. 24/96 and some 24/178 and 24/192). it's become addictive and i can't seem to stop. high res on dvd is truly an incredible digital sound. when played threw the pwt/pwd in a well set-up/matched system and room, it's as close to perfect digital as i've ever heard. background is black as black gets. sound-stage is enormous, deep and detailed. mids and highs are super crisp yet clean and smooth. incredible down low too with plenty of slam/hit. hi-res dvd is digi heaven for me

as Sgr put it, it's just really enjoyable/fun to listen to. he's also spot on regarding tweeks and set/up. good power supply and pc's along with isolation from vibration really seem to help.

i'm in the middle of comparing my Duo with and without a pre-amp. recently upgraded my amp (krell s300i integrated to levinson-432) and contemplating which way to go. the PWD Duo sounded fantastic going straight into the 432 *and* has an outstanding volume control mechanism. however, so far adding the pass aleph p sounds just as good/great?. at this point, i can tell no difference's what so ever?. not 100% sure yet but it looks like i'll be going with a pre. this mainly due to the added connectivity and control features, along with no discernible loss in audio quality (imo so far).

i can't get enough of this thing!

cheers
Lev

Hi Lev,
I think you'll need a preamp, too. I listend to PWT/PWD straight into the crossover, with the Levinson #32, and with the ARC Ref #. While the sound of the PWT/PWD direct was very good and I found it had great dynamics and punch, it was a little on the uncontrolled side. It also has to be (according to PS Audio) played at least half volume because with anything less a digital volume control loses some of its resolution. In my experiements things always sounded best with the PWD at full volume while using the Preamp to control the output. If you could swing it, and wanted a Levinson pre, I'd look at the #320s. You might also consider a tube preamp. I've really enjoyed coming back to a tube preamp. To me, it would be worth it to save for a Ref 3. However, I could easily live with using the PWT as a preamp if I had too!
Also, Cullen Electronics, who do design work and mods for PS Audio, are working on a mod for the PWD, and I believe I was told they thought they could improve the volume control on the PWD. So that may be something to check out in the near future.

you're right Sgr. my Pass Aleph P pre-amp needed break-in and on day 3...it really started to sound better. it's obviously an old peice but in really pristine condition. it could have been sitting in its wooden crate for 10 years, for all i know?. didn't think a lengthy break-in would be needed but i was wrong. really like the simplicity and the sound of this pre-amp so far. think i'm gonna keep it hooked up for now and see what happens.

and yes...keeping the pwd set up to run above 50% was a small problem too. it restricted the volume i wanted for certain disc's. i do understand that very little is lost below 50% but i(we) don't like to hear the word "lost" at all when it concerns digital playback.

will play around with different pre's down the road a bit, as the budget allows. i'm done spending big chunks of money for a while. finished a big room treatment project last weekend so i'm done for now. gonna sit back and enjoy the ride on a *perfect wave* for a good long while =).

cheers
Lev