PS Audio Perfectwave DAC MKII

Discussion in 'Closed (Archived) Sales' started by MattRG, Mar 15, 2017.

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  1. MattRG

    MattRG Facebook Friend

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  2. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    We don't have silly rules like that... You can post links and say the names of forums... go for it!
     
  3. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    That'd be the basis for a reasonably cost-effective way to progressively get into a full-blown DirectStream DAC (you'd be at about $3,500 total if you did it right, took advantage of the trade-in for the upgrade kit, and had them fix the screen at the same time).

    You could squeeze in a little under that figure by buying a used DirectStream DAC directly ... they seem to land around $3,000 to $3,200 depending on age/condition. But the ability to do it progressively is probably worth the difference to some. And going the Perfect Wave -> Upgrade route comes out at about the same level if you can do the upgrade yourself (it's swapping a trio of boards if I remember correctly).
     
  4. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I think @Marvey thought the Directstream was a downgrade. The PWD MKII with a decent interface is still really freaking good.
     
  5. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Entirely possible!

    Though with the DirectStream the version of the FPGA "code" you're running can make a big difference, since so much of the DACs functionality is implemented there. On "Yale" it really wasn't competitive with Yggdrasil. With the "Torreys" update it was much more convincing.
     
  6. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    Yeah, the PWD MKII was the flavor of several months with a lot of folks here... pretty good stuff.
     
  7. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Wasn't it the Mk1 upgraded to the Mk2 that was the preferred option, rather than the straight-from-the-factory Mk2?

    If so, that poses an obvious question ...
     
  8. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Yes. @CEE TEE still uses this DAC. I couldn't convince him to move to the Gungnir Multibit. probably because he's not a speaker person.
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The PWD1 with the upgrade to the PWD2 was the way to go. PWD2s straight from the factory sucked ass - way too thin sounding. The power transformer looked smaller and I don't know what other changes there were. i2s or AES was the way to go with the PWD1/2- and not with the PWT (the PS Audio transport) which sounded meh. With the right source, I could get the PWD1/2 to be more organic and fluid sounding, but there was always that bit of Wolfson rasp.

    I heard the DirectStream DSD early on when it came out. Reminded me of Chinese Sophia Princess Ultrasmooth tubes, but take away the bass. I got sick of PS Audio because the PWD Ethernet card never worked right / never supported gapless after a year of promises by Paul McGowan, and the PWD DACs sounded substantially different with each firmware revision. In the end, I felt like I was dealing with a beta product and lost all trust in Paul McGowan. I will never again buy a product that he sells. I still think Paul should do things right and refund all customers who purchased the Ethernet Bridge.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2017
  10. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    This is an amazing deal. I would jump on it if I had the cash now.

    Well-done Wolfsons are usually more dynamic than than Yggdrasil or even Bifrost Multibit despite that last hint of harshness they often have. I like them more than Gungnir Multibit. Thin or lots of stridency is usually underbuilt power supplies or choosing the wrong filter. Thin Wolfson = bad power and the chip hasn't been implemented correctly due to the built in op-amp. Certain phones and old AGD were among the worst offenders.

    I have heard only horrible things about the FGPA based DirectStream.
     
  11. MattRG

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    Yes, this is an upgraded unit. Purchased in 2012 as a Mk1 and upgraded by PS Audio in 2013 to MkII status. =)
     
  12. Stapsy

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    I still have my PWD mk1-->mk2 from the pre-Schiit multibit days and it has never given me a reason to upgrade. I have also grown to appreciate the built in volume/filter controls and easy input switching. If anybody buys this and wants to firmware roll send me a message and I will dig up the old versions for you.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I imagine with the Singxer i2s HDMI, this would be a pretty fantastic digital front end for a very good price. Too bad AGD or chicken guzzards or mustard greens seem to be all the rage these days.
     
  14. MattRG

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    I've decided to keep this item and thus it is no longer for sale. If a mod could close/archive this thread I would appreciate it.
     
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