PS Audio ... How good are they with audio products?

Sumerian

I was in a assumption that PS Audio is mainly in to Power Products.

Does their Audio Products (DACS)? considered high end..
Is their hefty price justified?


Any of the members had a chance to hear em?

tonyb

IMHO...yes. Their dacs are very good but like everything in audio, different strokes for different folks. Their top dac is a reference piece for many professional audio reviewers.

When it comes to dacs though, there's more out there than most realize. Weis, Meitner, Audio note, Chord, Berkely, Lampizator, so when put into context of all the other top gun dacs, PS Audio is reasonable and very competitive.

Keep in mind too, that just because a dac costs 3g's doesn't mean you'll like it either. They all have certain flavors, certain sound characteristics that may or may not appeal to you. Get a good feel for the sound by some user reviews, find the dac that does what you want it to do with all the inputs you need.

kevhed72

Since we are talking DACs, which connection would be "better" ....optical or digital coax. From what I have read coax, so I am on the verge of purchasing a digital coax from Signal Cable....

tonyb

Which ever one sounds better to you. Different dacs handle things differently, which is better comes down to personal preference. I think digital coax is the better option myself and has a more profound influence on the sound.

tonyb

Btw...forgot to mention the Blackcat digital coax is a darn good cable for the buck. Look them up.

Sumerian

Thanks for the reply Tony.

hochpt21

Sumerian wrote: »

I was in a assumption that PS Audio is mainly in to Power Products.

Does their Audio Products (DACS)? considered high end..
Is their hefty price justified?


Any of the members had a chance to hear em?

I have a phono stage and DAC each from a few years ago. The DAC has been modified, but IMO both products are great and were a considerable jump for me from entry level.

I do think their pricing strategy is a bit wonky. They will intro products at very high prices and then sometimes run big sales. Or when a product is getting phased out they will slash the price.

I think its a great value on the used market, but would personally probably not buy new.

Just my opinion.

kevhed72

tonyb wrote: »

Btw...forgot to mention the Blackcat digital coax is a darn good cable for the buck. Look them up.

Cool....thanks

unc2701

kevhed72 wrote: »

Since we are talking DACs, which connection would be "better" ....optical or digital coax. From what I have read coax, so I am on the verge of purchasing a digital coax from Signal Cable....

Coax is usually better, BUT if your source is a computer or you're hooking the cablebox to your stereo definitely try optical. With optical, there is NO electrical connection between the source and the DAC; computers put out tons of EMI some of which can find its way into the ground of your DAC via a coax connection and generally garbage up your sound. Cable boxes are notorious for ground loops and using optical is a way to isolate them.

polkfarmboy

I love the ps audio dacs as they sound great with good bass and a warm and not overly detailed top end. Right now I am doing little comparisons with the wyred 4 sound dac 2 and the ps audio perfectwave mk2 dac and the marantz 8004 dac.

Sumerian

polkfarmboy wrote: »

I love the ps audio dacs as they sound great with good bass and a warm and not overly detailed top end. Right now I am doing little comparisons with the wyred 4 sound dac 2 and the ps audio perfectwave mk2 dac and the marantz 8004 dac.

Wow i would be very interested to know the results.

Please keep us posted.

what are your initial impressions?

polkfarmboy

The ps audio is the clear favorite but........... I prefer the wyred 4 sound hooked up to the ps audio perfectwave cd player when its running through my wryed 4 sound amp using the joule preamplifier. I am just doing this as a personal comparison and dont really post my findings in fear of negative comments.

Christo

Sumerian wrote: »

I was in a assumption that PS Audio is mainly in to Power Products.

Does their Audio Products (DACS)? considered high end..
Is their hefty price justified?


Any of the members had a chance to hear em?

I've had many PS Audio audio products (DACs, preamps, headphone amps) and have been impressed with them all. I think the PWD DAC (both I and II) are excellent deals on the used market but would be wary of paying full price--too many DACs I've had since were just as good as the PWD for much less.

Sumerian

Christo wrote: »

would be wary of paying full price--too many DACs I've had since were just as good as the PWD for much less.

are you comparing to the current price around 2k or the original price around 5K?
can you please let me know what else you have tried and how did they perform compared to PS Audio

Christo

I meant the new price of 4K seems a bit high. I found both the W4S 2, Yulong DA08 and Marantz SA8004 (and the newer 8005) all performed at least as well as the PWD II I had, and all cheaper than the current used (under 2K) price of the PWD II. I'm itching to see how the W4S DSD performs against the Yulong, which is really superb at 1200.

Moose68Bash

I just purchased a PS Audio PerfectWave DAC MKII, Network Brifge and PerfectWave Transport (demo units at less than half MSRP). So far I have only installed them for use with CDs and my iPod dock (Cambridge Audio iD100); no Internet or computer playback yet and no hi-res playback. I'm not ready to write an extensive review, but I can say that my first impressions (as well as my wife's) are that compared to my Cambridge Audio Azur 840C, the PS Audio DAC and transport deliver a palpable improvement in sound quality -- more well defined, wider, deeper sound stage; greater clarity and spacial differentiation of voices and instruments; more powerful and controlled, realistic bass. In listening to "Bolero," for example, I could clearly discern the distinct timbres of the instruments as the repetitions of the theme moved around the orchestra, distinguish their individual locations on the sound stage better then ever before, and more fully appreciate the clarity of the high frequency sound. Overall, these pieces of equipment deliver a significant step toward greater realism in the rendition of the performance -- at least, to my ears.

tonyb

Christo wrote: »

I meant the new price of 4K seems a bit high. I found both the W4S 2, Yulong DA08 and Marantz SA8004 (and the newer 8005) all performed at least as well as the PWD II I had, and all cheaper than the current used (under 2K) price of the PWD II. I'm itching to see how the W4S DSD performs against the Yulong, which is really superb at 1200.

You may just be discerning differences in preferences in the sound you like, which is cool. Haven't heard the Yulong, but the W4S sound isn't up my alley either but that doesn't make it someone elses huckleberry.

Keep in mind you need to experiment with a few cables with each dac as they are very receptive to cable changes imho. What works for one may not for another. Pretty much goes for any piece you rotate in and out of your system. Takes a little trial and error before judging if it should be kicked to the curb.

polkfarmboy

I should mention that I have several ps audio dacs and transports so if you ever want to buy one then send me a pm for a quote as there are many diff options ie. bridge installed, new ,used or less than stellar condition.

dragon1952

Sumerian wrote: »

I was in a assumption that PS Audio is mainly in to Power Products.

Does their Audio Products (DACS)? considered high end..
Is their hefty price justified?


Any of the members had a chance to hear em?

Definitely an erroneous assumption.they are one of the premier company's that offer power products but they have been making quality audio products for some time. I've owned 3 of their DACs from the DLIII to the PerfectWave MKII and they are excellent. As for pricing, when their products are initially released they sell them direct for full retail but once they get out to the retail outlets you can get them way cheaper. My PerfectWave MKII w/ bridge retailed for close to 5k and I got it for 2300. Of course I got it shortly before the DSD model was released, but still if you wait a while they come down considerably.

Sumerian

polkfarmboy wrote: »

I should mention that I have several ps audio dacs and transports so if you ever want to buy one then send me a pm for a quote as there are many diff options ie. bridge installed, new ,used or less than stellar condition.

PM Sent