[yo2tup]

I had Wayne do the digital mods (without bybees) on my SB3, and he was nice enough to let me demo the Ultimate PS MKII with Summit DC cable and Summit power cord for the past couple weeks. 

I've been using a highly modified zhalou 1.3x DAC.  Previously I was running it with an unmodified SB3 with a linear power supply, then a RWA SB3 with digital mods, and now Bolder digital modded SB3 and ultimate mkII (both without any bybees).   

I was never planned on purchasing the Ultimate MKII (I was going to settle on Waynes digital mods and an eplac)....but within the first 10 seconds of hearing the the bolder digital modded SB and the Ultimate MKII.........WOW!!  I was sold.  Its the real deal.  What everyone says about Wayne's ultimate ps's are true.   For me the difference, when upgrading to this PS, was greater than when I upgraded my speakers and amps. The first thing I noticed was size of the soundstage...width and hieght, but depth especially!  A lot of depth   Then I heard piano and couldn't believe all the weight and detail in the midrange that I was missing before.  Midbass and bass, just as nice, stronger and weightier than before.   Imaging also improved, the images are very "tactile" with this ps. Meaning lots of air around the instruments, its like you can reach out and grab them.  So yeah...I'm sending Wayne a check for this power supply tomorrow.   I like it...

I didn't think the DC cable from the PS to the SB3 would make much of a difference, but I was wrong.  I think, the improvement with the Summit DC cable justifies the extra cost.  Although, I don't have the nitro to compare it to...I made my own DC cable using a shielded twisted pair of 99.999% silver wiring, neutrik xlr, and switch craft dc plug.  I was hoping I could save some money building my own.  It works fine...but it doesn't sound as good as the Summit.  The Summit has more air and detail, and more weight in the mids than my cable.  The difference is enough that I'm probably going to end up buying a Summit DC 

The Summit AC power cord prototype is also nice.  I have two Black Sand Cables Violet, and a Nitro power cord in the my system, so those are what I've been comparing.  Connected to the DAC, both the Summit and Violet are close.  The Summit is faster in the transients, has a little more detailed in the extreme highs and more detailed in the lows than the Violet.  The Violet has a little more separation and is a little more holographic.  Again, this is when connected to my DAC.   Connected to the MKII power supply though, its a different story.  Compared to the Violet and Nitro, the Summit just sounds more "live" like a live concert and the bass is much more solid.  I guess Wayne wasn't kidding when he said the Summits and ps designed as a system together.  I get the best sound when the Summit AC and DC cables connected to the Ultimate MKII.

Really great stuff, Wayne!  Thanks 

 

[95bcwh]

Wayne's Ultimate PS is not a hype at all.  To my ear, it beats many CDP up to $4k that I have listened to critically.     

Now, I was just wondering, when you said that upgrading to the ultimate PS gives more impact than upgrading your speakers. How's that possible? What speaker did you upgrade from? Speaker is generally the most determining factor on how your system will sound. It's hard to imagine that a digital transport, no matter how good it is, can turn a bad speaker to a good speaker.

[yo2tup]

Wayne's Ultimate PS is not a hype at all.  To my ear, it beats many CDP up to $4k that I have listened to critically.     

Now, I was just wondering, when you said that upgrading to the ultimate PS gives more impact than upgrading your speakers. How's that possible? What speaker did you upgrade from? Speaker is generally the most determining factor on how your system will sound. It's hard to imagine that a digital transport, no matter how good it is, can turn a bad speaker to a good speaker.

I guess I did leave that a little open ended.  Let me try to explain.  I've had Ascend 340's then upgraded to Onix Ref1's, I currently have some Odyssey's and demo'd some Selah Tanzenites and Era Design 5's recently.  Each time I upgraded speakers (or demo'd), the improvements and differences between these speakers were noticable.....but when I upgraded to ultimate MKII and digital modded sb3,  the improvement that I heard (on the speakers I have now) was more of an improvement than each time I upgraded (or demo'd) to better speakers.  But then again each time I upgraded speakers it wasn't that drastic of a jump, and the front end of my system back when I had Ascends and Ref1's wasn't as good as what I have now.   I should've been more clear with that sentence.  I hope that make sense.  Sorry for confusing.

The Ultimate MKII just sounds really good ok