Tonight I've just played some Linda Ronstadt and Doobie Bros Gold CDs that I'm familiar with and which sound great for redbook!

Cold out of the box the PWD clearly sounds as good as the CB3 Extreme DACs. With the stuff I am listening tonight and level matched its tough to discern a difference at this point in time.

I also played a bit of 176/24 HRX disc Minnesota Orchestra from Reference Recordings. NICE!!!!@@@ That will only play via PWD DACs at native rate, not the CB# DACS which won't play this but only leave abject silence.

Reference Recording's HRX 176.4/24 disc Lincolnshire Posy, music for band by Percy Grainger, Dallas Windy Symphony on the PWT/PWD combo is - -
AWESOME!!

[Steve, btw - didn't mean to hijack your thread - I don't post that often and well, your's was already there. :) This one probably my last post for a while]

O.K. well a few days ago I pushed my trusty old Mark Levinsohn 390S back in place.
Just a reminder:- The 390S is a combination of x3 high-end ML products in one chassis: Pre-amp; DAC and Redbook transport. Subjectively :), this is still one hell of a combination that has given me 4 years of listening pleasure.

The ML allows for one digital input, so I was able to connect the PWT to it via digital coax. At first I must honestly say it was hard to detect a difference. Every time I listened to the PWT, and said "wow" - then back to the ML, I was in doubt once again.

Tonight I listened again though, using different material - the old but still good "heartfelt" on the Proprius label. This time I definately preferred the PWT. The best way I can describe the improvement, was that it was just that little bit more three-dimensional; "closer" if you like. I would say this is a fairly valid test, since the ML should have the benefit, if at all this is a benefit, of not being connected via external digital cable, which I assume must make a difference?

Happy listening, Steve - I'll check in from time to time.

[Steve, btw - didn't mean to hijack your thread - I don't post that often and well, your's was already there. :) This one probably my last post for a while]

O.K. well a few days ago I pushed my trusty old Mark Levinsohn 390S back in place.
Just a reminder:- The 390S is a combination of x3 high-end ML products in one chassis: Pre-amp; DAC and Redbook transport. Subjectively :), this is still one hell of a combination that has given me 4 years of listening pleasure.

The ML allows for one digital input, so I was able to connect the PWT to it via digital coax. At first I must honestly say it was hard to detect a difference. Every time I listened to the PWT, and said "wow" - then back to the ML, I was in doubt once again.

Tonight I listened again though, using different material - the old but still good "heartfelt" on the Proprius label. This time I definately preferred the PWT. The best way I can describe the improvement, was that it was just that little bit more three-dimensional; "closer" if you like. I would say this is a fairly valid test, since the ML should have the benefit, if at all this is a benefit, of not being connected via external digital cable, which I assume must make a difference?

Happy listening, Steve - I'll check in from time to time.


Please feel free to continue posting your impressions, too. You are not hijacking anything - you are contributing.

I connected my 2M PS Audio Transcendent XLRs from PWD to Six Shooter yesterday and am running a Purist Audio burn-in disc mostly around the clock. Will do more comparative listening of the PWT/PWD vs PWT/Extreme DACs later onl

So, Steve.... the verdict?

I am very, very pleased with the PWD, too. Still "burning" in. HA!@@@ Will be doing a nice review later when I get a chance. And after we've done some nice extended listenin'. My friend Lon will come by when he gets a chance (he's a new grandpa any minute or hour now) and we will do a blind test, me switchin' the CB3 remote between the PWT/PWD-Six Shooter AND the PWT/CB3 Extreme DACs.

Spent four days last week listening to the PWT paired with the Berkeley Alpha and was very impressed. I was not able to get my hands on a PWD to do a PWD/BAD comparison.

@Steve: I don't have a surround sound system at the moment. Stupid question: Is there any way I can integrate a half-decent surround processor in my PWT/PWD/I2S setup without compromising stereo quality?

@Steve: I don't have a surround sound system at the moment. Stupid question: Is there any way I can integrate a half-decent surround processor in my PWT/PWD/I2S setup without compromising stereo quality?

Not a stupid question at all.

I have a Theta Casablanca 3 surround processor. It has a Six Shooter multi-channel analog preamp attached to it only by a data cable and a set of 5.1 balanced interconnects from the CB3 to the Six Shooter. Then the amplifier interconnects connect to the Six Shooter. The Six Shooter has input 1 with a set of 5.1 balanced and 5.1 single-ended interconnects; and input 2 with a second set of 5.1 balanced interconnects. Volume is controlled by the CB3 main unit as well as its remote control. The Six Shooter is very, very high quality preamp - much better than connecting into the stereo analog inouts on the back of the CB3 itself.

Bulldogger does this, too. He has also tried other separate stereo preamplifiers as well.

O.K. Steve - I see on the web the following quote:-

"Enter the Six Shooter, a passive multichannel "robot" preamplifier that connects to and takes direction from a Casablanca controller. Because the two are interconnected, integration is seamless from the user perspective. Yet because they're separate, each signal type is treated to an optimal environment."

So I take it then that you go PWT -> PWD -> Six Shooter, then keeping the PWD DAC on 100% volume; and I further take it that because the Six Shooter is passive, you still get the full benefit of the PWD's hi-rez?

I sure wish PS Audio could bring out a PWD Surround Processor .... I wonder if some of the other high-end manufactuers e.g. Classé; Linn and Lexicon will perhaps be moving that way?

O.K. Steve - I see on the web the following quote:-

"Enter the Six Shooter, a passive multichannel "robot" preamplifier that connects to and takes direction from a Casablanca controller. Because the two are interconnected, integration is seamless from the user perspective. Yet because they're separate, each signal type is treated to an optimal environment."

So I take it then that you go PWT -> PWD -> Six Shooter, then keeping the PWD DAC on 100% volume; and I further take it that because the Six Shooter is passive, you still get the full benefit of the PWD's hi-rez?

I sure wish PS Audio could bring out a PWD Surround Processor .... I wonder if some of the other high-end manufactuers e.g. Classé; Linn and Lexicon will perhaps be moving that way?

You have got it right re how I use the PWT to PWD to Six Shooter!!!@@@

My friend Lon will come by when he gets a chance (he's a new grandpa any minute or hour now) and we will do a blind test, me switchin' the CB3 remote between the PWT/PWD-Six Shooter AND the PWT/CB3 Extreme DACs.
You should consider using Amir's methodology, where you randomly change the volume settings. Although not as desirable as level matching, it is still a useful way to compare units.

You should consider using Amir's methodology, where you randomly change the volume settings. Although not as desirable as level matching, it is still a useful way to compare units.

I have already stated in this thread that I have level matched with my CB3 the Extreme DACs vs the PS Audio DAC. Believe me my ears and brain do this quite nicely.

My Theta CB3 Extreme DACs really do perform nicely with the PWT. Absolutely. I could be happy this way forever.

With the PSD engaged, I ended up putting in a 1M balance pair of Granite Audio interconnects to the Six Shooter, and I just luv the sound. The PSD seems a bit more three dimensional, open real than the Extremes, though frankly, unless you listen to both, you wouldn't have any idea.

Now the PSD on some Reference Recordings HRX176.4/24 DVD-Rs I got are just something else entirely. WOW!

The PSD is staying. A few more Reference HRX discs have been ordered!!!@@@

My bud Lon is finally a grandfather thanks to last nite, a long ordeal is over. He is hoping to come over Saturday for some real listenin'!!!@@@

ALso, I have figured out how to use my three Aerial subs with the PWD, too, only for a very low end boost, one that really isn't necessary, but why not since I have them. I just hook up a pair of 1M single ended interconnects from the PWD to the Velodyne
SMS-1. On one of the SMS-1's six remote control settings I set it for the PWD including appropriate volume and low pass filter to subs. And away we go!~!!@@

The verdict is in!!!@@@

#1 PS Audio PWT and PWD to Six Shooter

VS

#2 PS Audio PWT to Theta CB3 using latter's Extreme DACs

I've played around a bit with cables, accessories, etc. My configuration now is on the bottom a Symposium Ultra platform, then a set of three Symposium rectangular "cubes" (I tried Symposium Rollerblocks, but didn't like them primarily because the components on top rolled some and weren't stable enough), then the PWT, then on top of the PWT the PWD (with its rubber feet screwed off, the PWD fits on top of the PWD like they were one component, as that is how they are designed), then a 3/8 thick Symposium Svelte Shelf, then on top of the shelf a Bright Star Little Rock weight. I settled on 1M Granite Audio balanced interconnects from PWD to Six Shooter preamp. 2M Cardas Neutral Reference balanced digital cable from PWT to CB3. Granite Audio power cords plugged into PS Audio Premier Power Plant not using the Multiwave feature (like the regular sine wave better musically in general). The I2S HDMI cable between the PWT and PWD is a Blue Jeans Cable 1 foot Belden Series F-2 (in a few week's PS Audio's silver HDMI 1M cable will arrive and I will try it out).

I setup the CB3 input for the PWT so the front left and right speakers are full range with no other speakers or subwoofers, so we could directly compare the #1 to #2.

Over the past 3 weeks, I've had the PWT-PWD running probably16-18 hours per day mostly using a Reference Recordings/XLO burn-in track.

Initially, both #1 and #2 sounded very similar to my ears, hard to tell a difference.

Then I started noticing that #1 was somewhat more 3D and more airy, real vocals, but I frankly found myself preferring #1 and listening in #1 as I patiently waited for the day that we'd critically demo (today).

The other nite playing "Stormy Weather" off the burn-in disc, I started to really notice the difference between #1 and #2 really preferring #1. Keep in mind that #2 really sounds great, but its only when you listen and become aware that #1 is more involving, more airy when called for, more "tube like" in a real sense, that you must have #1. This is why I generally have a rule do not demo unless you can afford or at least are willing to buy. Or unless you can sell old gear at a good price to make room for new gear hopefully at manufacturer accomodation or dealer pricing.

To test #1 vs #2, I simply hit input 1 or 2 on the Theta remote and I instantly switch between #1 and #2.

So Lon came over today. We spent several hours listening to various stuff of all types. We listened a bit and agreed that #1 and #2 seemed to be the same volume (at least get them as close to the same as the CB3 volume control allowed) level.

Initially, I put on another of Lon's Usher Audio demo CDs (they are all fantastic) with vocals and classical and a bit of jazz. I played the first cut for awhile, without telling Lon whether this was #1 or #2. Then I told Lon I was switching to the other # without telling him which one it was. Lon easily picked the first one I played, which was #1 (PWD). Throughout our listening session of several hours, I did this exercise a number of times, but at times switching the order of which # was played and each time Lon selected #1 (PWD), noting how much better it was even though the CB3 Extreme DACs were excellent in their own (if you weren't listening to the PWD). Lon made a good comment, that the PWD #1 was more like analog and tubes, more real airy vocals, better soundstaging, etc than #2; and perhaps more important, that the PWD #1 was so much more "undigital" whereas the CB3 #2 was so much more digital in comparison.

I also played some Reference Recordings HRX 176.4/24 DVD-Rs. WOW! We could really hear the sonic improvement. These discs will only play on #1 PWD and will not play with CB3 Extreme DACs. However, regular CDs were no slouch and totally enjoyable, pop, rock, classical, jazz. The HRX discs are a nice bonus.

Overall, we played cuts from:

2 Usher Audio Demo CDs
XLO Test & Burn-In CD (XLO & Reference Recordings)
Jazz at the Pawnshop XRCD
30th Anniversary Sampler (Reference Recordings)
Minnesota Orchestra Showcase Eige Oue (Reference Recordings)
Emmylou Harris Spyboy
Jacintha Here’s to Ben (XRCD)
The Eagles Hell Freezes Over
The Doobie Bros Toulouse Street (Mobile Fidelity)
Several HRX 176.4/24 DVD-Rs (Reference Recordings)
So the PWD is staying, too. I feel like a whole new musical avenue has openjed up in my system.

Again, the CB3 Xtreme DACs are outstanding with the PWT. But once you've listened to the PWD in lieu of the CB3 Extreme DACs, one does not want to go back.

I decided how I am going to use my three Aerial subwoofers in conjunction with my PWT & PWD.

Currently, my Theta Casablanca 3 has balanced analog interconnect to
its Six Shooter multi-channel analog preamp; from there balanced analog interconnect to Velodyne SMS-1; then 25’ balanced analog cable to first Aerial sub; then balanced analog cable to 2nd Aerial sub; then balanced analog cable to 3rd Aerial sub. My subs are all placed near the front screen wall at the side of the front center speaker, where they measure pretty close to flat. I run the SMS-1 flat except that I boost 2 dB at 32 Hz and also boost 6 dB at 20 Hz. And if I use the “Action” (action movies), “Jazz” or “Rock” modes there are a bit different boosts in bass that I sometimes like to use.

I am simply adding a 2nd SMS-1, running stereo analog interconnects from PWD to SMS-1 (I used balanced interconnects from PWD to Six Shooter preamp), and running a 25’ single-ended interconnect to the 1st Aerial subwoofer (as the 2nd and 3rd subs are chained to the 1st by balanced interconncts already, I don’t need to add any more interconnects). All three subs will work for this. For the PWD, I will be using the SMS-1 to apply the low pass filter of 40 Hz 6 dB to the subs.

Essentially, my subs simply augment the very low end. My Aerial 9s sound best when they run full range or a low pass of 40 Hz 6 dB and anything other than that simply isn’t as musical to my ears.

A few times today, for option #2 CB3 Extreme DACs, I set the front left and right speakers to crossover with high pass 40 Hz 6 dB, with a subwoofer set to low pass 40 Hz 6 dB. Still #1 PWD preferred vs #2 CB3 Extreme DACs. But on one low organ cut, we could feel and hear the bass even better with #2 even though #1 had plenty of low bass and overall was better sounding and preferred.

I anticipate that using my Aerial subs with a 40 Hz 6 dB low pass will give me a bit of extra oomph that I will like. But I will be running my front left and right speakers full range, since the Six Shooter does not processing. If by chance I find 40 Hz 6 dB muddles up the midrange a tad because of no high pass, then I can always set the SMS-1 to lower the low pass to say 35 Hz or even 30 Hz at 6 dB.

Any chance that you could borrow a Gen VIII Series 2. I would be curious to know whether the PWD would still sound as good or better. Obviously the Gen VIII lists for a lot more, but there have been some relatively good deals on Audiogon and there is the possibility (promises, promises) that the Gen VIII will be able to be integrated with the HDMI Casablanca (if it ever happens).

Any chance that you could borrow a Gen VIII Series 2. I would be curious to know whether the PWD would still sound as good or better. Obviously the Gen VIII lists for a lot more, but there have been some relatively good deals on Audiogon and there is the possibility (promises, promises) that the Gen VIII will be able to be integrated with the HDMI Casablanca (if it ever happens).

The Gen VIII can be integrated with the CB3 right now with a digital out card. But it will only do redbook and those discontinued 96-24 DVDs that I think Chesky put out when integrated with the CB3.

As for the possibility that the Gen VIII can be integrated with the promised upcoming CB3 HDMI 1.3 audio, I think that's a hoot that you can't depend on. I'd like to see it but I think its far less likely than the CB3 HDMI 1.3 audio, and even that is still hopeful but we must wait until the fat lady sings.

Notwithstanding this, sure, I'd be glad to demo the latest version Gen VIII against the PWD, but I do not know anyone locally who has one to even consider doing it. On well. And yea, the Gen VIII latest version retails now for $13,500 - even a dealer cost probably over 8 grand. Ouch! The PWD retails for 3 grand, I got accomodation cost - way less than a Gen VIII.
Plus the network bridge (with digital lens included) is planned to retail at $500. Add a networked hard drive, music software, and remote to select the music (see PS Audio website for ongoing progress on this) and BINGO, I've got my music server.

I luv the PSD.

Steve says: "I love my PSD"

So do I, and Friday evening, just on a whim, I stuck my Satellite decoder's digital out into the PWD. Heh heh - I sat smiling the whole evening, enjoying even a very crappy "B" grade movie "Rambo III", I think it was. The PWD just added that dimension to my satellite sound that even just stereo has placed my TV listening in another dimension.

I haven't been into surround for quite a while. Now, here in South Africa a new gun law came into effect and I had to hand my 6-shooter in :). If only PSA could take that d@mn good PWD, add a surround processor with room correction and a Lens for good measure; Bridge as standard and I don't mind x2.5 the current retail ... Now THAT would be heaven for sure!

Steve says: "I love my PSD"

So do I, and Friday evening, just on a whim, I stuck my Satellite decoder's digital out into the PWD. Heh heh - I sat smiling the whole evening, enjoying even a very crappy "B" grade movie "Rambo III", I think it was. The PWD just added that dimension to my satellite sound that even just stereo has placed my TV listening in another dimension.

I haven't been into surround for quite a while. Now, here in South Africa a new gun law came into effect and I had to hand my 6-shooter in :). If only PSA could take that d@mn good PWD, add a surround processor with room correction and a Lens for good measure; Bridge as standard and I don't mind x2.5 the current retail ... Now THAT would be heaven for sure!


PS Audio knows its niche market - stereo!!!@@@ A PS Audio surround processor in the vein of the PSD would be cool but I doubt it would be seen by PS Audio as economically worthwhile and somewhat risky given the economic climate. At least in the near future. Mebbe someday.

Now along similar lines, here's something I posted at the PS Audio Forum yesterday:

"Paul,how about a new PS Audio product to go with the PWT and PWD. You use the PWD analog balanced outputs to preamp or to amps. You use the PWD single ended analog outputs to the PerfectWave Ambience Surround Extractor, or PASE. The PASE uses Circle Surround 2 to extract ambience to the rear left and right surround channels, and also you set the low pass and extract the subwoofer outpout, too. The quality of the surround of course won’t equal the front channels since the surround uses conversion of analog to digital, digital processing, and then digital to analog conversion. But its ambience, and for the subwoofer you can’t even tell the conversion. This product shouldn’t cost that much and would be great for those of us with surround systems. Note that this product doesn’t do any conversion or change to the front left and right channels, they stay as is, pure unadultered PS Audio sonics as good as it gets.
This PASE would give the benefits of Theta Casablanca surround processing/ambience extraction but with the sonics on the quality level of PS Audio. I can live without my rear speakers easy thanks to the PWT and PWD for music. Still, as the Beach Boys say, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”!@@"

My friend Lon's comments on our demo yesterday.

"The PS Powerwaves added transparency, soundstage improvements and an overall more natural, refined performance. The changes could be heard with the transport alone but the addition of the DAC took the system to a glorious level."

Yep, Steve. That'd be really nice as a second option. However, room correction - even on standard stereo - that was once almost thought of as sacrilege, seems to have gained quite a following. With this option, I'd have surround - and I suppose (if my logic is correct) also room correction with surround if I have a half decent processor; but I won't have room correction on stereo. Now, the PSA combo has really taken my sound to another level, above that of the ML390S I used before, BUT my room acoustics is nasty and the B&W802D's bass tend to be a bit overwhelming. I don't have the time or inclination to crawl around floors for best positioning of speakers and/or subs, being born lazy. The evidence, so it seems, is that the room correction by processor method is gaining momentum over the "get your room right" and add bass traps etc etc approach.

Changing some cables and properly isolating my equipment has helped a heck of a lot, but not enough.

The thing is also, that with Classé, Lexicon and others already having top-end surround processors that include room correction (yes, I know at much higher prices), how long will it take them to catch up to the hi-rez solution? - I'd say they're probably very close.

But I hear what you're saying and I fully concur:- Your suggestion should be cheap to implement. It's just that the PWD and PWT combo sounds so nice that I tend to dream sometimes. I can't help but getting the feeling that PSA has the edge at the moment in stereo sound quality especially with hi-rez thrown in AT THE PRICE point. But technology is always improving, and I kinda think it might just be easier for the guys who are already there in terms of surround/room correction technology, to just add hi-rez; than for PSA to do add this functionality to their excellent PWD.

O well we can only dream hey? But for now I'm quite contented with what I have, which has brought my listening enjoyment to a new pinnacle.

THe problem is surround processors have compromised analog inputs at least compared to Theta CB3's Six Shooter, which works fantastic without compromising that balanced audio coming out of the PWT-PWD combo. You really want to use the PWD analog outputs through a high quality stereo preamp or the Theta Six Shooter, or use PWD analog output direct to your stereo amps.

Got my Perfectwave Transport and DAC now going with my three Aerial subwoofers.

However, wanting to maintain my "purity", I have stereo balanced cables (Granite Audio) from the PWD to the Six Shooter, so I am not using any high pass at all.

I am using the Aerial subs in combo with a second Velodyne SMS-1 to simply give me a bit of boost of low bass.

I looked in my pile of test discs and found a Stereo Review one with stereo with subwoofer test tones to level match using my Radio Shack sound level meter.

As mentioned above in this thread, my three Aerial subs are pretty flat as placed.

Since I was running a single ended cable )a Blue Jeans subwoofer cable is fine for this) from the SMS-1 to the first Aerial sub, I found that for the pass thru to work, I needed to hook up single ended cables between each sub, too. (I have another SMS-1 for the CB3 and Six Shooter, which takes in a balanced cable from the Six Shooter and a balanced cable out to the first Aerial sub, with balanced cables between each set of subs, too.)

Whereas for the CB3 and Six Shooter I have the front volume panel of the Aerial subs set at 0, when I play the PWD, I set it using the remote to -10, the lowest (the back of the subs' volume controls are at the 1/4 mark). Whereas the SMS-1 has a unity gain volume of 15, I set the volume at 3. If I turn off the main front left and right amps, and run the sub test signal, its a few dB higher than the main speakers. And if I turn on the main front left and right amps, and then run the sub test signal, I'm about 4 dB higher on the sub test tone than main speakers. But heck, I've got the SMS-1 set at a 40Hz 6 dB low pass, and it sounds really good, just a bit of extra oomph at the low end sometimes.

I will be playing with this. I can simply turn off the SMS-1 and compare with and without subs. I can lower the SMS-1 crossover a bit. And I can try a higher crossover slope, too. For now, I'll listen awhile like this, but I will use my subjective sensibilities and also my SMS-1 onscreen display to measure and my ears as well to fine tune. HA!

Right now playing XRCD of "Jazz at the Pawnshop".

Tne "brand new" mono CD remastered mix of The Beatles has arrived. Listend to their first album "Please Please Me" and brings me back to that day when I first heard them. The mono mix is what The Beatles mixed - The Beatles had nothing to do with the stereo mix. Its sounds great!!! And no compression.

Here's a comprehensive review of the PS Audio Perfectwave Transport and DAC with lotsa pictures outside & inside:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/psaudio7/perfectwave.html

Is the comprehensive review of the product that's currently shipping or was it one of 'beta' units that was tested by Miller Audio Research?

Is the comprehensive review of the product that's currently shipping or was it one of 'beta' units that was tested by Miller Audio Research?

Time to get off that old horse which has deflated!

I mentioned the review not so much for its substance, but for the pictures of the PerfectWave gear inside and out.

The review is dated December 2009, so clearly it is of a current product.

Just ordered mine, they are quite the combo!!

Overall, we played cuts from:

2 Usher Audio Demo CDs
XLO Test & Burn-In CD (XLO & Reference Recordings)
Jazz at the Pawnshop XRCD
30th Anniversary Sampler (Reference Recordings)
Minnesota Orchestra Showcase Eige Oue (Reference Recordings)
Emmylou Harris Spyboy
Jacintha Here’s to Ben (XRCD)
The Eagles Hell Freezes Over
The Doobie Bros Toulouse Street (Mobile Fidelity)
Several HRX 176.4/24 DVD-Rs (Reference Recordings)


Thanks for the above disc refs.

I like sampler discs, and ordered the above 30 year RR disc. :)

Amazon didn't have any customer reviews on it, but I ordered it nonetheless.

Worth noting, I think well of you and your recent posting on AVS.

More on topic, what makes you think that the PS PW Transport is any better than a stereo (CD/SACD) Marantz SA8001 player (~$900 new, and now discontinued)?

I mean, when the digital signal from the player is run into a top end external DAC like a Bel Canto DAC3 using a coax digital cable.

I mean, are the DAC unit(s) that you are using still more top end than my BC DAC3?

IMO odds are that for 2 channel playback, this is going to be a very close call.

Of course, this is what high end tends to be about.


Cheers

More on topic, what makes you think that the PS PW Transport is any better than a stereo (CD/SACD) Marantz SA8001 player (~$900 new, and now discontinued)?

I mean, when the digital signal from the player is run into a top end external DAC like a Bel Canto DAC3 using a coax digital cable.

I mean, are the DAC unit(s) that you are using still more top end than my BC DAC3?

IMO odds are that for 2 channel playback, this is going to be a very close call.

Of course, this is what high end tends to be about.


Cheers

I can only give you my subjective demo in my system and why I like it.
I haven't tried your components in your system.

However, given how the PWT as a transport smokes my theta Compli,
I would expect that anyone with a similarly resolutionwise system and ears without wax between could hear the same.

As for the PWD, the DAC, all I know is my CB3 Extreme DACs are darn fine sounding DACs, but the PWD once its burnt in makes the Extremes sound digital in comparison.

Will be comparing the PWT and PWD to my GEN VIII! I have demoed the Perfect wave and it is very good it does things my Gen VIII can't. I still like the Gen VIII but will take sometime to see which i like best.

The PWT will be better than any Transport you have heard!!!! Redbook will be better than sacd threw the PWT. If your using the same dac!

Since this product can play the new hi-rez stuff, I'm interested in how that sounds compared to traditional Redbook of the same music using the same hardware.

Done any comparisons?

It is better, some cd's a lot better. Some not as much, but a few will take your breath away!!!

The PWT PWD combo sounds so darn good that I just don't worry where a disc is redbook or higher resolution - I listen to whatever I feel like listenin' to!!@@

But yea the 176.4/24 HRX stuff sounds awfully nice!!!@@@

I can only give you my subjective demo in my system and why I like it.

I haven't tried your components in your system.

However, given how the PWT as a transport smokes my theta Compli,
I would expect that anyone with a similarly resolution-wise system and ears without wax between could hear the same.

As for the PWD, the DAC, all I know is my CB3 Extreme DACs are darn fine sounding DACs, but the PWD once its burnt in makes the Extremes sound digital in comparison.


Diminishing returns and all that.

Anyway, thank you very much for your meaningful and polite response.

BTW, I did go out to audiogon blue book and see that both the transport and DAC are expensive, but then this is the "Ultra High-End" forum.

I'll put the transport on my radar, but will not be holding my breath as I'm a closeout/used type of hifi nut. :)

OTOH, the main reason that I bought a used Bel Canto DAC3 is that it has superior I/O options as well as a convenient remote.

I'll get out to the PS Audio site and check out what they have to say about their Perfect Wave transport.


Thanks again

Its a free country and GDI I can listen to anything my wife let`s me listen to.

Just got my Perfect Wave's man they sound good right out the box! They sound much better than the demo's i tried. My dealer has the demo's said mine sounded better too. They are very very good!! Priced right too.

Just got my Perfect Wave's man they sound good right out the box! They sound much better than the demo's i tried. My dealer has the demo's said mine sounded better too. They are very very good!! Priced right too.

Use a nice burn-in CD, like the XLO disc I use. After several hundred hours, it will sound even better!

Are you going direct to your amps, or using a preamp, or do you still have the Theta CB3 and using the Six Shooter as a preamp?

I go direct into amp! I don't have a Casablanca, but i do have a GEN VIII.

I go direct into amp! I don't have a Casablanca, but i do have a GEN VIII.

Your impression of the PWT-PWD combo vs the PWT-Gen VIII would be interesting!

How long do you believe will it take to break-in the PWD and PWT? Gen VIII is a great piece, that is why i have kept it. I love how it sounds, but the PWD sounds even more revealing and accurate than the GEN VIII. I will be doing further comparison in days ahead. I was just going to buy the PWT for my GEN VIII and a possible Berkeley, after hearing the PWD; well i bought it!! I like the Berkeley too but it doesn't have the "air" like the GEN VIII and PWD.

I like the Berkeley too but it doesn't have the "air" like the GEN VIII and PWD.
It's all synergistic, of course, but I auditioned the PWD, Weiss DAC2 and BADA paired with a PWT, and found the BADA to be the easy winner for that very reason - PWD and Weiss were detailed, but flat and 2D in comparison to the BADA. YMMV.

How long do you believe will it take to break-in the PWD and PWT? Gen VIII is a great piece, that is why i have kept it. I love how it sounds, but the PWD sounds even more revealing and accurate than the GEN VIII. I will be doing further comparison in days ahead. I was just going to buy the PWT for my GEN VIII and a possible Berkeley, after hearing the PWD; well i bought it!! I like the Berkeley too but it doesn't have the "air" like the GEN VIII and PWD.

My experience is although I luved them out of the box, after close to 300 hours it got even better!!!!@@@ ENJOY!@@:D

Here's a comprehensive review of the PS Audio Perfectwave Transport and DAC with lotsa pictures outside & inside:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/psaudio7/perfectwave.html


Steve, I particularly enjoyed this review. The explaination of the Analogue nature of the optical reading of the disc in real time was particularly enlightening. It goes a long way to explaing the issues we have with these discs, and why players like the PWT and various servers are an improvement for Digital Media. I intend to give the PWT/PWD a full audition at CES. I understand Paul will have a real nice PS/Maggie setup at the Venitian. Thanks for the Link. Happy Hollidays, Norm

The Berkeley is a different sounding piece. I really like the Berkeley too and would love to have one.

The subjective means please avoid discussing objective rants re level matching, double blind testing, ranting about break-in or power cords, etc. I am not interested. Do you own thread if you wanna do that stuff. Thanks.

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/detail/perfectwave-transport?cat=audio for info on the new PS Audio PerfectWave Transport

Our Az AV Club had a club demo by Paul McGowan, President, PS Audio, of their brand spankin' new Perfectwave Transport and PerfectWave DAC at our meeting at the end of June!!!

I was impressed and ordered one direct from PS Audio (I admit to paying a lotta money but getting a reviewer type discount) and I set it up last Wednesday.

If folks behave, I will continue this thread over time as I use my new PS Audio PerfectWave Transport. If folks I simply will enjoy my system but no longer post about this stupendous product.

In summary - if you have a Theta Casablanca 3 with Extreme DACs, then you can forget about SACD and DVD-A, even if you have matched floorstanding speakers and amps all around for the best multi-channel sound, because redbook CD in stereo alone is better sounding than anything else, period! Its that good. Redbook CD in Circle Surround is also very outstanding but you can at times detect a bit of processing, I surmise from the surround derivation, so it may be even better just stereo. And though SACD and DVD-A multi-channel always sounded great in my setup, they are not just beat a bit but the new PS Audio sort of beats them by several steps in the naturalness of being there, soundstaging, vocal, etc. That much closer to actually being there.

I wasn't expecting the PS Audio to be this good. I was hoping it might make redbook CD sound closer or as good if I was lucky as SACD. My expectations were trounced!!@@

Steve,

I recently acquired a CBIII + Xtreme D-2 + Compli + Six Shooter (has not even arrived yet) to replace my Onkyo 885. Unless SACD from my Sony XA5400 ES decoded in the Onkyo into the SS sounds better, I will sell my Sony and use the Compli as source. I will probably run the Compli into the Xtreme's for CD and play with Circle Surround.

In short, I am where you were at a year ago from what I gather. This post suggest the Compli will now be the weakest link in my setup. My question to you (and others) is, did you compary any other MC SACD players / CD transports to the Compli before settling on the perfect wave?

The reason I'm asking is I want to continue to use MC SACD analog into the SS, which obviously the perfectwave won't do. Ideally I would get a very good MC SACD player, which is also an excellent CD transport (close or equal to the perfect wave). Would getting say an Esoteric SA-60 move me close to Perfectwave performance for CD, or would it marginally improve the Compli? Is the Perfectwave really in such a different leauge you cannot get close using a tradition CD/SACD player (or a very good univeral)?

Steve,

I recently acquired a CBIII + Xtreme D-2 + Compli + Six Shooter (has not even arrived yet) to replace my Onkyo 885. Unless SACD from my Sony XA5400 ES decoded in the Onkyo into the SS sounds better, I will sell my Sony and use the Compli as source. I will probably run the Compli into the Xtreme's for CD and play with Circle Surround.

In short, I am where you were at a year ago from what I gather. This post suggest the Compli will now be the weakest link in my setup. My question to you (and others) is, did you compary any other MC SACD players / CD transports to the Compli before settling on the perfect wave?

The reason I'm asking is I want to continue to use MC SACD analog into the SS, which obviously the perfectwave won't do. Ideally I would get a very good MC SACD player, which is also an excellent CD transport (close or equal to the perfect wave). Would getting say an Esoteric SA-60 move me close to Perfectwave performance for CD, or would it marginally improve the Compli? Is the Perfectwave really in such a different leauge you cannot get close using a tradition CD/SACD player (or a very good univeral)?

I suspect that the Perfectwave Transport and DAC combo is tought to beat especially in its price point, and especially if you have an outstanding preamp like the Six Shooter or even a better preamp. This thread discusses my observations in my system and how this PerfectWave combo trounces even my Compli in SACD.

You are most welcome to bring over a better SACD player to demo in my room and system!

Steve,

I recently acquired a CBIII + Xtreme D-2 + Compli + Six Shooter (has not even arrived yet) to replace my Onkyo 885. Unless SACD from my Sony XA5400 ES decoded in the Onkyo into the SS sounds better, I will sell my Sony and use the Compli as source. I will probably run the Compli into the Xtreme's for CD and play with Circle Surround.

In short, I am where you were at a year ago from what I gather. This post suggest the Compli will now be the weakest link in my setup. My question to you (and others) is, did you compary any other MC SACD players / CD transports to the Compli before settling on the perfect wave?

The reason I'm asking is I want to continue to use MC SACD analog into the SS, which obviously the perfectwave won't do. Ideally I would get a very good MC SACD player, which is also an excellent CD transport (close or equal to the perfect wave). Would getting say an Esoteric SA-60 move me close to Perfectwave performance for CD, or would it marginally improve the Compli? Is the Perfectwave really in such a different leauge you cannot get close using a tradition CD/SACD player (or a very good univeral)?
Ed, I think you've made a fine improvement in your system with the Compli. It gives you MC SACD, and a very fine CD & SD DVD Transport. Are you using BD yet? I ask this, because the big limit in these SS systems is only two MC Analogue inputs.
I got a chance to spend some serious time with the PS Perect Wave System at CES. The new PW Bridge give the capability to use a NAS into the PWD with IPod Touch interface. It was one of my favorite systems at CES in SQ and having it allow intant access to your collection is a huge winner in my mind. Only Touchscreen Severs like Qsonix and Sooloos have a better interface, and no server sounded better than the Bridge into the PWD.

The big question is do you have an input available in your SS? Do you want to spend another $5000-$6000 on Redbook? If so, the Perfect Wave system is outstanding, and I would agree with Steve. I would look into the PWD with the Bridge rather than the PWT. The Bridge has a drive in it to rip your CDs directly to the NAS. If not a server like a modified Squeezebox or Transporter into your CB III SPDIF can be a real winner. Perhaps in the long run a BD player which does CD & DSD and only uses one SS input is the answer till Theta gets HDMI into the CB III.

Ed, I think you've made a fine improvement in your system with the Compli. It gives you MC SACD, and a very fine CD & SD DVD Transport. Are you using BD yet? I ask this, because the big limit in these SS systems is only two MC Analogue inputs.
I got a chance to spend some serious time with the PS Perect Wave System at CES. The new PW Bridge give the capability to use a NAS into the PWD with IPod Touch interface. It was one of my favorite systems at CES in SQ and having it allow intant access to your collection is a huge winner in my mind. Only Touchscreen Severs like Qsonix and Sooloos have a better interface, and no server sounded better than the Bridge into the PWD.

The big question is do you have an input available in your SS? Do you want to spend another $5000-$6000 on Redbook? If so, the Perfect Wave system is outstanding, and I would agree with Steve. I would look into the PWD with the Bridge rather than the PWT. The Bridge has a drive in it to rip your CDs directly to the NAS. If not a server like a modified Squeezebox or Transporter into your CB III SPDIF can be a real winner. Perhaps in the long run a BD player which does CD & DSD and only uses one SS input is the answer till Theta gets HDMI into the CB III.

I am using a Pioneer 09 for BR (bought this based on your recommendation actually). The PWD + bridge really presents itself as a nice alternive to investing in a very good transport. I'd like to know how it compares with PWT + PWD sonically. The other advantage of this setup is I would not need any D/A conversion in the CBIII anymore, so I could sell my Xtreme Card and use the CBIII strickly as a SS controller. This would almost pay for the PWD. The only thing I would loose is HDMI upgradability, but it would be hard to justify making this investment just to be able to run Audio from the Pioneer BR over HDMI. Besides, it is yet to be seen this will actually sound better than running the Pioneer through the six shooter. In this configuration I would have to run the PWD into the pass through input on the Six Shooter, because the other two inputs would be taken by the Compli and the pioneer. Since the PWD has volume control, this should work just fine though. I will definitely look into a PWD + bridge architecture. Thanks for pointing me into this direction.

I am using a Pioneer 09 for BR (bought this based on your recommendation actually). The PWD + bridge really presents itself as a nice alternive to investing in a very good transport. I'd like to know how it compares with PWT + PWD sonically. The other advantage of this setup is I would not need any D/A conversion in the CBIII anymore, so I could sell my Xtreme Card and use the CBIII strickly as a SS controller. This would almost pay for the PWD. The only thing I would loose is HDMI upgradability, but it would be hard to justify making this investment just to be able to run Audio from the Pioneer BR over HDMI. Besides, it is yet to be seen this will actually sound better than running the Pioneer through the six shooter. In this configuration I would have to run the PWD into the pass through input on the Six Shooter, because the other two inputs would be taken by the Compli and the pioneer. Since the PWD has volume control, this should work just fine though. I will definitely look into a PWDSystem.
+ bridge architecture. Thanks for pointing me into this direction.
Ed, you bring up a lot of possibilities here. First, I think if Theta gets the HDMI mod done to their satisfaction I believe it will, with Extreme Cards, best any BD player's analogue outputs, save possibly the Ayre. Add to this the supeior bass management of the CB.
If however, you want to have only analogue sources, I would move the whole CB - SS rig as a unit and get an Audio Research MP1 Analogue MC Pre amp. This would give you a pure Analogue pre without the Digital hash in typical pre/pros. This is why the SS is so good, but it has limited functionality for an all Analogue system where the ARC would give you multiple inputs.
Which brings us to the PS PW system. Scott McGowan told me at CES the Bridge is now at 99% of the PWT in SQ. They fully expect it to be @ 100% with the next FW update. From what I heard, I would go with the PWD and Bridge because of its functionality. I don't go to my CDs ever. Why break up a perfectly good listening session by having to change discs. It's just not necessary anymore, and if I'm going to bother with that I'm listening to my Turntable.
So to summarize, keep the CB to see just how good the HDMI upgrade is or, if you want an all analogue system go for it all the way, and get digital out of your preamp completly. Just remember, what do you do about decoding broadcast Satellite or Cable? The Integra analogue outs perhaps into one of your MC inputs. Food for thought. Regards, Norm

Ed, you bring up a lot of possibilities here. First, I think if Theta gets the HDMI mod done to their satisfaction I believe it will, with Extreme Cards, best any BD player's analogue outputs, save possibly the Ayre. Add to this the supeior bass management of the CB.
If however, you want to have only analogue sources, I would move the whole CB - SS rig as a unit and get an Audio Research MP1 Analogue MC Pre amp. This would give you a pure Analogue pre without the Digital hash in typical pre/pros. This is why the SS is so good, but it has limited functionality for an all Analogue system where the ARC would give you multiple inputs.
Which brings us to the PS PW system. Scott McGowan told me at CES the Bridge is now at 99% of the PWT in SQ. They fully expect it to be @ 100% with the next FW update. From what I heard, I would go with the PWD and Bridge because of its functionality. I don't go to my CDs ever. Why break up a perfectly good listening session by having to change discs. It's just not necessary anymore, and if I'm going to bother with that I'm listening to my Turntable.
So to summarize, keep the CB to see just how good the HDMI upgrade is or, if you want an all analogue system go for it all the way, and get digital out of your preamp completly. Just remember, what do you do about decoding broadcast Satellite or Cable? The Integra analogue outs perhaps into one of your MC inputs. Food for thought. Regards, Norm


Norm this may be the 20K+ forum but economics do play a role for me. If I downgrade my CBIII to SS controller, I can sell 2 Xtreme cards for 4K, add in 4K for the HDMI upgrade and the difference between analog and HDMI is 8K. Lot of money for (hopefully!) improving sound on my 10 blu ray concert videos (getting more realistic explosions out of Bond movies has no value added to me).

If the Ayre Universal does indeed sound better analog than over CBIII HDMI (as you suggest it might), this would prove to me analog is inherently superior to HDMI for high rez audio. If Ayre can upgrade a $500 Oppo to something that sounds superior over MC analog than CBIII 15K HDMI architecture they spend 4 years (and counting) developing, than any high end manufacturer that sets their mind to it can. The new McIntosh and Marantz Universals may very well qualify, not to mention the 15K Krell. What HDMI would get you is room correction (helas not Theta), bass management and convenience.

IF the CBIII+HDMI had supported DSD direct I would have considered it (now we are adding the entire SACD catalogue into the mix), but as it is it is not worth the money to me. IF Theta delivers a stellar HDMI implementation, the blu ray concert catalog expands and blu ray music becomes the de facto standard media for MC high rez audio I can still upgrade. Of course at this point I would regret having sold my two Xtreme cards, but I suspect at this point there will be an Xtreme D-3 card (the current card is over 5 years old 96/24!).

You totally convinced me of the merits of the PWD + server architecture and will defintely check this out. Only limitation is it is strictly 2 channel. So if I fall in love with Circle Surround I would consider getting another server, keep one Xtreme card and feed a digital signal from a server into the CBIII through S/PDIF. I guess even in this setup a PWD would still be a cost effective contender for music server, although it would now then use it as a digital rather than analog source.

Digital for my satelite receiver is not a problem. I can either use one of the additional digital inputs on the PWD, or use digital input of the CBIII. Note that when I sell an Xtreme card, I would trade in the old card of the seller (which has close to zero value at this point), and stick it into my CBIII, so I can still run a digital source - good enough for TV. Using the integra is not an option because when I get the Compli for SACD, I won't need the Integra anymore and will sell it (unless the Sony XA 5400 ES DSD direct decoded by the Integra into SS sounds better than Compli direct into SS).

Lots of possibilities indeed, but the PWD looks like an absolute winner. In fact, PS Audio is making its own PWT obsolete by introducing the bridge if it is as good as promised.

I have heard from a few friends who are not AVS or web posters.

One has Aerial 20Ts and a Theta Generation VIII DAC, and he is now using the PS Audio Powerwave DAC and Transport and selling the Gen VIII. I wasn't necessarily expecting that at all!

Another is one of my several AV friends who is a medical Radiologist. He has one of the largest LP collections I've ever "heard". He has got the PerfectWave Transport and DAC and says they are the first digital he's heard that is as good as his analog sounding LPs!

Interesting!

I have heard from a few friends who are not AVS or web posters.

One has Aerial 20Ts and a Theta Generation VIII DAC, and he is now using the PS Audio Powerwave DAC and Transport and selling the Gen VIII. I wasn't necessarily expecting that at all!

Another is one of my several AV friends who is a medical Radiologist. He has one of the largest LP collections I've ever "heard". He has got the PerfectWave Transport and DAC and says they are the first digital he's heard that is as good as his analog sounding LPs!

Interesting!

Eagerly awaiting the bridge which will supposedly sound as good was the PWT + PWD combo. In fact, I suspect quite a few more folks are planning to wait for the bridge before jumping on the PS audio bandwagon. PS Audio told me they will release a turnkey package (including DAC, bridge, storage and interface) for 5.5K at which point the PWT becomes entirely redundant.

I have heard from a few friends who are not AVS or web posters.

One has Aerial 20Ts and a Theta Generation VIII DAC, and he is now using the PS Audio Powerwave DAC and Transport and selling the Gen VIII. I wasn't necessarily expecting that at all!

Another is one of my several AV friends who is a medical Radiologist. He has one of the largest LP collections I've ever "heard". He has got the PerfectWave Transport and DAC and says they are the first digital he's heard that is as good as his analog sounding LPs!

Interesting!

Steve, have you compared the PWD with the Xtreme Card on digital sources other than the PWT? Reason I'm asking is I am planning to get the whole music server package from PS Audio once the bridge comes out. However, if using the PWD with my current digital transport over S/PDIF into the six shooter will sound substantially better than the Xtreme Card, I would consider buying the PWD now and upgrade to the bridge, lens and NAS package when it comes out.

Steve, have you compared the PWD with the Xtreme Card on digital sources other than the PWT? Reason I'm asking is I am planning to get the whole music server package from PS Audio once the bridge comes out. However, if using the PWD with my current digital transport over S/PDIF into the six shooter will sound substantially better than the Xtreme Card, I would consider buying the PWD now and upgrade to the bridge, lens and NAS package when it comes out.

Sorry, I haven't, and I am very busy with my law practice and family stuff and just don't have tiime to do stuff that I ain't interested in for my system.

Sorry, I haven't, and I am very busy with my law practice and family stuff and just don't have tiime to do stuff that I ain't interested in for my system.

Understand. I may have a chance to get my hands on a PWD locally and do a comparison myself shortly. Alterntively, I may just buy one since I'll need it eventually anyway. There are four listed on audiogon at the moment. Meanwhile - keep billing!

I have heard from a few friends who are not AVS or web posters.

One has Aerial 20Ts and a Theta Generation VIII DAC, and he is now using the PS Audio Powerwave DAC and Transport and selling the Gen VIII. I wasn't necessarily expecting that at all!



Is the Gen VIII the series 2? Supposedly the series 2 is an improvement over what the Six Shooter can do. To be honest I did not read much of this thread because I assumed that the PS Audio stuff was made in China. Then I read this,"The PerfectWave series is assembled, programmed and tested at our new production facility in Boulder Colorado." Now I am interested;).

Is the Gen VIII the series 2? Supposedly the series 2 is an improvement over what the Six Shooter can do. To be honest I did not read much of this thread because I assumed that the PS Audio stuff was made in China. Then I read this,"The PerfectWave series is assembled, programmed and tested at our new production facility in Boulder Colorado." Now I am interested;).

I was told that it was a Gen VIII Series 2 that was bested by the PWD. I frankly didn't expect that. But that is one person's findings and not fully dispositive. I guess like my findings are one person's findings and not disositive. But its dispositive for me!!@@@

I was told that it was a Gen VIII Series 2 that was bested by the PWD. I frankly didn't expect that. But that is one person's findings and not fully dispositive. I guess like my findings are one person's findings and not disositive. But its dispositive for me!!@@@

Well that they are in the same league considering the price difference is good. You know, we all have high-end systems but none of us have the exact same amps,speakers,sources. For example, as much as I love the Marantz SA7s1, some of my other friends strongly prefer the Cary 306 Pro. Vanilla or Chocolate?