Who buy PS AUDIO ?

I bought a PS DirectStream DAC and bridge a few years ago and was so impressed that I ended up selling my McIntosh system and getting a BHK system and P15 power regenerator. It is really excellent gear and sounds terrific. 

I bought all of my gear direct from Kevin Jackson who is terrific. I had the great pleasure of visiting their Boulder factory, listened to the IRS system, and have met Paul, Scott, Kevin, and the brilliant engineers Bascom King (BHK), Darren Myers, and Ted Smith. A truly great team. 

Their trade-in program is a terrific deal. 

Highly recommended.

I had a PerfectWave CD transport that was quite good which I had purchased used (and wish I would have kept).  I traded it in for a new Perfectwave transport and though the unit functioned normally the aluminum casing did not line up in the corners - something that was noticeable from 10 feet away as one of the panels was slanted.  So I sent it back for another PerfectWave transport and it too had crooked casing.  This is a brand new $6000 unit and two in a row were built very poorly (from a visible standpoint) though they passed inspection.  So my opinion is that the company has poor workmanship, especially given asking price.  I also tried a PS Audio BHK Preamp.  It sounded quite good, with two exceptions that ultimately led to me returning the preamp and moving away from the brand for good.  The first issue was that there was feedback/hum that I could not get rid of and did not exist in my system until I introduced the BHK.  I changed tubes, discussed with PSA, and tried several things, none of which worked.  Ultimately PSA said that they believe the unit was functioning normally and that my 95dB sensitive speakers were the culprit as they were too sensitive.  The other is that the click with volume change was obtrusive.  I had a LTA preamp that made an audible click from the unit with volume changes and this was perfectly acceptable.  On the BHK the audible click come through the speakers, which was not acceptable to me given so many other great options.  There are better companies out there IMO.  Also, never pay full price as there are recurrent sales that will make resale of a full price unit challenging.  That said, Paul's talks are informative.

PS sells only factory direct now...so list prices are down a little, but way higher than what their actual selling prices were before...

I’m a lifelong “value” shopper, and for my budget that meant PS Audio was too expensive, even if I do think Paul McGowan is just great. But last year I decided to upgrade my DAC, a $300 Musical Fidelity V-90. I had auditioned that puppy against $1,500 DACs and kept it instead. Then PS offered the DirectStream with bridge for $4,000. OK, that’s more than most of the rest of my system combined (Rogue Sphinx, Magnepan .7s, Marantz 5005 CDP, Debut Carbon TT. In other words, if it makes Stereophile’s Recommended list or TAS gives it a great ranking, it’s likely something I’ll consider.)

But PS pays shipping both ways so you can try it out at home, so why not see what the fuss is about. I was really impressed and don’t regret blowing the cash on the DS. With it and Tidal, I can wallow in music all I can stand. And yeah, they release software upgrades every year or so, so I won’t be upgrading any time soon. I just bought the Power Plant 3 at their 20 percent off sale and traded in the V-90 for a $300 credit. I haven’t used customer service yet, but the whole organization seems to be here for the customer. And they seem to manufacture in the U.S. maybe as much as is possible given how much of the components come from overseas. So I’m a supporter.

After years of loving my Audio Research CDT1 Transport ( and having the laser replaced and then the tray mechanism ) , I started looking for something new and stumbled, by accident on Paul McGowan doing his PS Audio YouTube posts. I took a leap of faith and bought a PerfectWave Transport and was exceptionally pleased.  The I2S intrigued me and led me to replace my Classe' DAC with PW DAC MK II w/ Bridge.  Incredible upgrade. 

That led to a P10 regenerator . Musically life changing ! 
  
After dusting off my Denon DP-3000 and getting back into my vinyl, I replaced my old Parasound phono pre with a PSA NuWave Phono Pre  that let me experiment with its I2S to Dac and analog XLR to PreAmp connects and USB to Laptop rip connect . Wonderful improvement ! 

I almost pulled the trigger on a new BHK Signature Pre , but I couldn't break up my Pass Pre & Power Amp duo because they just work so well together and "play" well with the PSA equipment.  Pass just got my preamp in for a "tuneup & checkout" and I can't wait to get it back.  ( Note that going from PSA DAC direct Amp without the Pass PreAmp still sounds pretty damn good. ) 

I'll trade in my PW DAC in for a new DSD DAC probably for Christmas because I'm already sold on how it will further my listening experience. 

PS Audio customer service has been second to none and when I call with questions on anything about my system or trade-ups , they never fail to impress. ( As do Pass Labs & Kimber also ) .

I like being treated as "family" ! 

Happy Listening all and ... 
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