Compatibility question regarding a Chord 2Qute and a PS Audio Perfectwave Transport

Hey Al, thanks for the comment on cable length.  I'll check in to it.

as I interpret various statements in the manual for the PWT its XLR output appears to simply be balanced AES/EBU, presumably 110 ohms.

Andrew, I agree with Al’s statement that the XLR output is the typical AES/EBU 110 ohm signal used in digital devices.

If you want to experiment with sound quality, you can use the AES/EBU output with a passive transformer which will convert the 110 ohm signal to coax’s impedance of 75 ohms. The Canare transformer has received good user reviews...
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=406162&gclid=CjwKEAjw19vABRCY2YmkpO2...=

I believe you will find the coax hook-up to the Chord to provide excellent sound as I did, especially since the PS transport is outputting a bit-perfect signal.
As mentioned, the cable you choose is important. That could be a potential weak link in the system, not the coax input/output.

Andrew, thanks for providing the link to the Stereomojo review. The reference to "S/PDIF via balanced XLR" in the review should most likely have said "S/PDIF encoded via balanced XLR." That would be consistent with what is said in the PWT manual, which also indicates that the XLR output is AES/EBU compatible (as stated in the excerpt you quoted). AES/EBU compatibility necessitates a nominal impedance of 110 ohms, and various other signal characteristics that differ from coaxial S/PDIF. AES/EBU and S/PDIF **encoding** is very similar, the difference being in certain control (non-data) bits. And surely the encoding that is used on the XLR output of the PWT would have been designed to be compatible with the AES/EBU inputs of consumer-oriented DACs.

Also, regarding the following comment that is stated in the review in support of I2S as being the best performing output...

The PWT uses an asynchronous clock that is completely divorced from pulling data off the optical disk when using I22 [sic]. Normal clocks float with the disk’s output and can introduce artifacts.

... while I wouldn’t quite classify this as techno-gibberish, I’ll say that it is not particularly meaningful and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

Finally, to add clarification to my earlier comment about there being no coax to USB adapters that I am aware of: There are, of course, adapters that can provide many kinds of non-USB devices with a USB interface. However in all such cases that I am aware of those devices enable a non-USB peripheral to communicate with a computer’s USB "host controller," and would not enable a peripheral (i.e., a non-computer, lacking USB host controller functionality) to communicate with another peripheral, such as the USB interface on a DAC.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

lowrider57,
On this,

I believe you will find the coax hook-up to the Chord to provide excellent sound as I did, especially since the PS transport is outputting a bit-perfect signal.
As mentioned, the cable you choose is important. That could be a potential weak link in the system, not the coax input/output.

In choosing a cable do you mean choosing something that's exceptionally well shielded with low loss and good connectors?  There are coax cables like this that don't break the bank.  --Or do you mean venturing into more esoterically constructed cables that are high priced?
.....Or maybe you were referring to the proper cable length in your post?
What coax cable do you like?

Regarding the coax cable, I contacted PS Audio and got the following reply.  I'm not including the authors name as I didn't mention I'd use his email in a post.
_________________________

Good morning,

Though a bit expensive, we really like Anti-cables.

Specifically, http://anticables.com/interconnects/digital-rca-interconnects#!/Level-3-2-Reference-Series-RCA-75-Ohm-Digital-Interconnect/p/14696953/category=3682629

Though a bit expensive, this COAX cable is brilliant. The length is less important, and it’s the 75 Ohms which is crucial.

Best,