[jhm731]

Issue 215 of TAS

Peter Breuninger gives the PS Audio Perfectwave Transport, DAC, and “Bridge” his “Golden Ear Award” for 2011

[jhm731]

Here's the text:

"This combination may not equal a handful of
 units that cost far, far more (like the Meinter
 XDS1 or the Meridian 808 Signature), but it
 comes so close that differences are as much
 matters of taste as of the finest nuances of
 sonic detail. The sound is extraordinarily live
 and detailed, and capable of getting the best
 bass response out of digital. The PS gear is
 detailed without any without hardness or edge
 that is not on the recording. A “must-hear”
 unit if you are trying to scale the heights of
 digital—particularly if you are not operating
 on an unlimited budget. It is in the process
 of becoming a full music server with its own
 music-management system, and it can handle
 even the highest sampling and frequency rates
 with ease—making it one of the few buys with
 full growth potential for the future. (Review
 pending)"

[vhiner]

Thanks for posting this. Time and time again reviewers are agreeing that once you get up in the $5000 category that the differences between DACs are relatively subtle and subjective. IMHO,  spending much more for a DAC during this period of rapid progress and innovation is a bit risky though I hope people will so that the rest of us can enjoy the trickle down technology. 
I hear Meitner's new "budget" DAC sounds very nice as well.

[TONEPUB]

The PS pair was excellent for the price point, but as someone who OWNS a Meridian 808 and a dCS Paganini, it's still a pretty big gap.  It's even a fair gap between the dCS Debussy and the Pag.

Of course it will depend on what your system can resolve, but the Perfect Wave is no match for the big bucks stuff.  One of the best out there for 5k though, and an excellent feature set.  We gave it an exceptional value award as well.

Honestly, as a DAC alone, it's an even better value.  It was too bad that the transport was not a universal transport.  It would be great if even as a higher cost option, they would make that an option. 

[TomS]

So why is this posted in Hi-Rez Music  ?

[jhm731]

So why is this posted in Hi-Rez Music  ?

"Welcome friends.  This is a new Circle that discusses all aspects of High Resolution music and recording.  What is HiRez?  Well, anything digital that is of greater resolution than standard redbook (cd), which is 16 bits and 44.1khz sample rate, aka 16/44.  Some of the well known Hirez sources are:
SACD
DVD-Audio
DVD-Video discs that have 24/96 music, playable on all DVD players (ex. Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall).
Blu-Ray audio
24/96 downloads via download sites like HDTracks, Linn, etc.
24/176.4 downloads purchasable via DVD-R from HRX, etc.

These discs and/or files can provide a greater sense of "being there", a greater likeness to their analog counterparts (vinyl) and a better overall musical quality than standard redbook (cd).  However, they can and have posed huge problems:  they are difficult to store (huge files), difficult to play back (proprietary equipment) and difficult to incorporate into today's AV systems.  There is a lot of confusion over how to find them, differentiate them, put a value on their sonic advantages, and even play them (DVD-Audio sometimes needs a monitor to navigate, etc).  They even come in stereo and multichannel!  But they are becoming more and more prevalent, and more and more confusing.

This forum circle will focus on those problems, those benefits and those unique hardware and software requirements to play and enjoy them.

No talk about vinyl, no talk about cd, no talk about tubes vs solid state, or open baffle vs horns....just talk about HiRez software, DACs and players (SACD/DVD-A/Blu-Ray).   That's all........

I've been living this area of music for many years, have a huge hiRez library af SACD's, DVD-Audio discs,  and HiRez files.  I've invested heavily in 5.1 dedicated HiRez music playback, and am on my ninth universal player, along with HiRez-capable DACs.  IOW, I have some experience, so it won't be the blind leading the blind....kind of. 

Thanks to John and AC for letting us play here in our new Circle.  Have fun, no badmouthing, only good vibes here."   

[TomS]

Thanks so much for reading the directions to me. My wife complains about that too.

Just seems to me it's mostly about the hi-rez music and how to play it, not awards and reviews. I had the PS here for an extended visit and it's certainly a nice setup to talk about.

[ted_b]

Tom,
I appreciate the questions.  But yes, if you want to discuss this DAC combo feel free.  I would have much rather the OP present a question or comment to discuss rather than post an award.  Awards are a dime a dozen, and too often closely correlate to payback for large advertising expenditures.  I'd much rather hear from users and those who have tried it without such financial interests.

Jhm731, you do not need to copy my words here, thanks.  It seems you like this DAC combo.  Why?  What about it is better than others in the same price range? What have you compared it to?  Net/net, Let's have a discussion, not a PS Audio ad..

[jhm731]

Tom,
I appreciate the questions.  But yes, if you want to discuss this DAC combo feel free.  I would have much rather the OP present a question or comment to discuss rather than post an award.  Awards are a dime a dozen, and too often closely correlate to payback for large advertising expenditures.  I'd much rather hear from users and those who have tried it without such financial interests.

Jhm731, you do not need to copy my words here, thanks.  It seems you like this DAC combo.  Why?  What about it is better than others in the same price range? What have you compared it to?  Net/net, Let's have a discussion, not a PS Audio ad..

Ted,

Yes, I like the PS combo and the Bridge.

Recently compared the PWD to a Weiss DA202 in my system and the PWD was much better, on redbook and hirez.

The Bridge software still needs some work, but it very easy to use and no PC is needed.

My set up: Seagate HD/Netgear WNDR 3700- CAT5-PWD-Version 1.8.25, Bridge Version 0.2.11, eLyric controller Version 2.02.1.

[vhiner]

Ted,

I thought a guideline clarification was an appropriate response to questions regarding a post..paraphrasing wouldn't have been reliable and ignoring the question would've seemed dismissive.

I have NO financial interest in PS Audio. I purchased the transport and DAC after comparing it to an extensively modded Meitner Bidat and CEC transport combo and  T + A 's latest DAC and  Boulder's flagship. The Boulder was a bit more natural and balanced throughout the spectrum but I couldn't come up with the $25k nor did I think the slight edge would've justified the expenditure had I possessed the moolah.

Someone I know recently compared the PW DAC /bridge with MSB's Signature  DAC ($21k) and preferred the MSB, saying the bass was tighter.

[kyrill]

"Welcome friends.  This is a new Circle that discusses all aspects of High Resolution music and recording.  What is HiRez?  Well, anything digital that is of greater resolution than standard redbook (cd), which is 16 bits and 44.1khz sample rate, aka 16/44.  Some of the well known Hirez sources are:
SACD
DVD-Audio
DVD-Video discs that have 24/96 music, playable on all DVD players (ex. Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall).
Blu-Ray audio
24/96 downloads via download sites like HDTracks, Linn, etc.
24/176.4 downloads purchasable via DVD-R from HRX, etc.

These discs and/or files can provide a greater sense of "being there", a greater likeness to their analog counterparts (vinyl) and a better overall musical quality than standard redbook (cd).  However, they can and have posed huge problems:  they are difficult to store (huge files), difficult to play back (proprietary equipment) and difficult to incorporate into today's AV systems.  There is a lot of confusion over how to find them, differentiate them, put a value on their sonic advantages, and even play them (DVD-Audio sometimes needs a monitor to navigate, etc).  They even come in stereo and multichannel!  But they are becoming more and more prevalent, and more and more confusing.

This forum circle will focus on those problems, those benefits and those unique hardware and software requirements to play and enjoy them.

No talk about vinyl, no talk about cd, no talk about tubes vs solid state, or open baffle vs horns....just talk about HiRez software, DACs and players (SACD/DVD-A/Blu-Ray).   That's all........

I've been living this area of music for many years, have a huge hiRez library af SACD's, DVD-Audio discs,  and HiRez files.  I've invested heavily in 5.1 dedicated HiRez music playback, and am on my ninth universal player, along with HiRez-capable DACs.  IOW, I have some experience, so it won't be the blind leading the blind....kind of. 

Thanks to John and AC for letting us play here in our new Circle.  Have fun, no badmouthing, only good vibes here."   

Under those rules I urge people to include HiRez software players as well , Some time ago I posted here information about  "Jplay" probably at present the best sounding Windows 7 player in the world especially in HiRez mode. The post was moved to the Discless circle by the moderator.

A Circle by the way  which has a huge overlap with this circle

[ted_b]

I moved jplay, and I'd move any other general software player, if it is not specific to hirez.  Great amps and speakers play hirez too, but this is not the circle for them.  This circle is to discuss hirez, so if you have a jpaly question about it's ability to play 24 bit you might post here, but generally you'll get way more views over in the computer audio (disc less, apple) circles.

[kyrill]

Ok Ted
But how are dacs specific to HiRez?

[ted_b]

Ok Ted
But how are dacs specific to HiRez?

Good question.  I try to limit my DAC threads to discussions about how they handle hirez...but the real issue is that unlike software players, there is no real overlap circle for them (other than equipment reviews, but that presupposes it's a true review).  I have issues with it, and ping'd JohnR about it, but he told me to handle it...so i made the decision to discuss DACs here cuz a) they semed orphaned; and b) most folks with external DACs are willing to discuss its hirez performance. 

Not the best answer, but we're making this up as we go along. 

[kyrill]

Fair enough