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the oppo 83 special edition as a transport

i own the ps audio pwefect wave dac, perfect wave trannsport and am reviewing the oppo 83 special edition.

i have been genereally disappointed with the ps audio transport and not overly impressed with the dac.

just on a whim , i connected the oppo to the ps audio dac, using coax. i definitely do not like the hdmi connection.

the oppo and ps adio dac to my ears sounds less digital than the ps audio combination. to my perception the oppo/ps audio combo sounds listenable, while the ps audio combo sounds somwhat analytical.

perhaps 334 hours is not sufficient to break in the transport. but, if it is it raises some questions.

in addition, the oppo by itself sounds less harsh than the ps audio combo? what's going on, or is it purely taste ?
mrtennis
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
Mr. T

Perhaps at some point you would elaborate on the how's and why's of your feelings on the PSA units determined lack of performance or it's issues that you have found to be less than to your liking.

it would shed a better light on things than a regretful statement indicating your own dislike for it which BTW, is pretty vague as it stands now.

Owner/user reviews IMO are of far more interest to me than those written by non owners…. Or INO… borrowers… primarily because owners have paid outright for the thing up front and then don’t owe anyone anything.

Good luck.
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
hi blindjim:

my complaints about the ps audio units can be summed up as follows

there is an analytical quality. musical details seem to be exaggerated. playing at louder levels creates a perception of hardness.

on the plus side frequency response is full, i.e., there is no lack of bass. but, there is some hardness.

i come from a tradition of tubes. the pair hardly reminds me of the sound of tubes.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
Mr. T

Thanks. remembering some of your preffs from a ways back I sort of thought those sentiments were in play here.

I've noticed on a couple new players folks saying the run in time was exceptionally lengthy, eg., approaching or exceeding 400-500 hrs.

maybe this is nothing more than that. A need for more spinning/playing time. Albeit it's setup may be more intensive a thing to delve into as well... to give it greater ease in the reproduction.... well, hopefully anyway.
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
hi blindjim:

i'm not giving up. i will give the ps audio combo another 300 hours. we'll see what happens.
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
The hardness in mine bothered me at first. It did take a long time to go away. I don't know how many hours, but over 300. I continually played Purist Audio's Break In CD.
I also replaced the HDMI Cable with the PS Audio Silver HDMI. I don't hear any hardness or glare anymore.
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