On offer is a Perpetual Technologies P1a Digital Correction Engine, P3a DAC with Modwright signature upgrade, and the Monolithic Perpetual Power Plant designed and built to replace the wall warts that originally supplied power to the P1a and P3a.
Thanks to the Modwright upgrade this combo has a wonderfully warm, organic, and natural presentation that allows you to immerse yourself in the music. This digital setup lasted me for almost ten years before upgrading to a Metrum Acoustics HEX. Pretty good statement as to the livability of the P3a.
My setup of the combo was: Transport => AES/EBU => P1a => Audio Revalations I2S => P3a then on to the preamp. Also I took advantage of the upsampling as it sounded better to me.
Media Review Excerpts:
Greg Weaver of Stereo Times when he compared stock to the Modwright version
“Bass and midbass performance improvements were immediately apparent. The deepest bass was better extended than the stock unit. It was also substantially faster sounding as well, offering better control and allowing for better pitch definition in that region. Attack seemed much sharper with the Signature unit.
Midrange took on a bit more warmth and focus, most notable with female vocals, piano or string solos. There was a very welcomed fleshed out, believable quality I had previously only been able to attain from vinyl. This was getting very good.
This next transformation may at first sound contradictory. The slight upper midrange through treble glare that, to my mind, is the only real foible of the stock P-3A and most digital audio in general, was greatly reduced. Yet, there was every bit as much detail and even more air! In addition, likely due to the increased extension and control in the lower octaves and the superb degree of refinement brought about in the uppermost octaves, staging was more open and extended. Overall, the soundstage was much more clearly illuminated sonically, offering a more intelligible and realistic interpretation of the space in and around the instruments. This affords a more discernable view of things such as the acoustic space of the recording and the venue itself.
To a surprising degree, transparency was heightened. If you’ve heard the P-1A/P-3A, you’re aware that this is one of the combo’s natural strengths. While overall resolution improved, there was a significant reduction of that digital "granular" quality that has kept so many of us listening to vinyl. I found this to be most alluring.”
Asking $600 for the set. Located in 99352.
