PS Audio Perfect wave DAC and transport

[Audioholic]

What are your thoughts on these 2 new products - there transport and Dac pre are both demonstrated by PS Audio's CEO in these youtube vids: Transport - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEtBMOa5NfQ

DAC pre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKm6zDAb7G4

The killer feature of the transport is its 64mb memory that's said to eliminate jitter and the fact it can be bridged to any DLNA compatible storage device and act as a server where you can select all your music. It doesn't use a differntial clock but asynchronous one that is said to be superior.

Instead of SPDIF, coax or toslink (which it does support) it is designed to enable i2s connecion which it's claimed is better because of the signal not having to be 'truncated'. Like the Sonos system you can control the DAC with an iPod touch/iphone app. ALso has wired and wireless access to any storage device. They are already retailing at £2900 each.

 

[John Duncan]

Audioholic:They are already retailing at £2900 each

And you were doing so well...

 

[Audioholic]

Yer I know, flipping expensive technology! But there seem to be enough ppl even in this recession who will pay over the odds for a well designed product (of course whether it's well designed is hard to judge atm when there's not a single review out! So you're taking a massive gamble if you're an early adopter!). But I thought I'd alert y'all to this if u hadn't heard of it!

Dw, I'm not a dealer, but can see it's got a lot of functionality, and according to there CEO uses a better DAC than the Naim HDX (a 32 bit wolfson one). The HDX has a 400gb hdd though and makes a perfect copy. This doesn't have any storage in the device, claiming the fact it allows the hdds to be well away from any audio gear an advantage (I'm skeptical). I think it can grab pretty much any media although ironically apple lossless (Despite the ipod controller support!) is still in the works! There's admittedly very few dacs at this price, but I can see it competing with the Chord electronics QBDAC76 (that is a custom made FPGA one though - whatever that means!). I think most ppl who might consider it wouldn't be bothered about having a pre-amplifier, but if you've already got a power amp then u have a complete system consisting of 2 boxes.

 

[Audioholic]

so no one's got anything to say other than it's hella expensive. It is a reference combo in PS audio's product range and is designed to compete with any cost no object digital playback system. If reviews when they surface say it can compete against pretty much anything in the digital streamer field (namely Linn's DS range which are currently the reference in the high end streamer market) in sq and interface stakes (won't be hard to beat linn on latter!) I think it could develop a following. Linn's major advantage is they already have a massive loyal fan base (linnophiles) and quite a lot of dealer support.

 

[John Duncan]

Audioholic:so no one's got anything to say other than it's hella expensive. It is a reference combo in PS audio's product range and is designed to compete with any cost no object digital playback system. If reviews when they surface say it can compete against pretty much anything in the digital streamer field (namely Linn's DS range which are currently the reference in the high end streamer market) in sq and interface stakes (won't be hard to beat linn on latter!) I think it could develop a following. Linn's major advantage is they already have a massive loyal fan base (linnophiles) and quite a lot of dealer support.

I think the issue is that the high end streamer market barely exists (it being even smaller than the high end hifi market). Yes it looks kind of cool, but to be honest it's not doing anything that my Mac isn't (AFAICT).

 

[Audioholic]

PS audio's own website goes into all the details of how the DAC operates

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/description/perfectwave-dac?cat=

 

[Audioholic]

This thing uses the same input (I2S) as the Zanden 5000 Mk.IV/Signature D/A converter, which in most people's opinion is the world's best DAC. Admittedly Zanden says their IS2 connection is unique, so it's implementation must be different to PS Audio's DAC but still makes me think the PS audio could be pretty amazing. I know it's just a connection, but it's a promising sign!

 

[Anonymous]

Audioholic:
according to there CEO uses a better DAC than the Naim HDX

PS Audio are using the Wolfson WM8471. The chip alone is not the sole factor of sound quality, and only costs a few pounds.

I've seen the chip in lots of products, from Arcam CD players, to AVI ADM9.1 active speakers, and up to Linn's flagship DS player.

You can buy the entire circuit on Wolfson's website - it's called an evaluation board - and with a power supply build a top of the range DAC very cheaply.

Features like the i2s connectivity certainly sound like an impressive selling point, but can you hear jitter in reality..?

If you already have a laptop you can download iTunes for free and also use an iPod Touch as a remote. If you need wireless streaming add an Airport Express for £65.

There you have it. Instead of spending £8k with PS Audio use your exisiting computer and build the same DAC for peanuts.

 

[Audioholic]

'It's not 8k, it's 2.9 for the DAC, which I think is the standout part of the combo. It would compete with the Chord QBD76 and cd players like the classe cd102. I'm interested to see what reception it gets once the hifi press get hold of one.