has anyone tried PS Audio perfect wave duo

I am really not trying to dissuade anyone from not liking the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC and Transport. I like it alot and enjoy listening to it very much. I've read people's comments and reviews and agree with what they say about the sound and feature set. There is another thread on Audiogon where the reviewer compares the PWT to his Forsell transport and I believe he makes some interesting points as well. I think a fantastic system could easily be built around it. I would be willing to bet it sounds better than some of the other highly touted gear. And of course the sound a new piece of gear is system dependent. I am puzzled as to why I'm not hearing what others have claimed. I just assumed that something as well thought out as the PWT/PWD are would more than give my equipment a run for the money. I'm investigating obtaining the new PS Audio HDMI cable and Power Cords to see if that makes a difference. I'm wondering what a difference the PS Audio Power Plant Premier would make?(I've heard rumors that there will be a new power supply available latter this winter that might make it better.)
I'm also breaking it in with care before I finish my evaluations although I did think it sounded great after just a few hours of warmup.

Levy03,
I believe "not even close" in retrospect was a poor choice of words. I'm sorry that my words could raise doubts about your purchase. I would own these two pieces with pride and they may indeed find a "home" in my system yet. I really like the idea of a hard drive based music system and have followed the Perfect Wave developent with great anticipation. You've done a great job building your system and it has taken me more than a few years to develop mine to this point and sometimes I still have doubts if I've made the correct audio choices.
Good listening to all and I'll keep you informed of my findings.

no apology needed sgr. your candid thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. i don't think you are dissuading anyone either. you can only tell it like you hear it. as good as the pet/pwd is or may be....hi-fi gear like levinson cost what it does for a reason imo. i've always believed one gets what one pays for (for them most part). if you want a source that sound like $10-$20k....buying something at $4-6k usually won't cut it =)

look forward to hearing more comments from you as things move along and/or come to a conclusion.

thanks again

This is a good discussion and I think we do need to start setting some reasonable expectations in the community. The PW technology is a 'next gen' approach that is highly convenient and likely represents where a majority of manufacturers are heading. That said, I think a fair label would be that the PW duo may represent the best bang for the buck digital front end for under $10-15k.

However, when you start talking about more than that kind of money, there's some seriously refined engineering going on that we shouldn't expect the PW to compete with. For those spending that kind of money, odds are it's part of a $100k+ reference system with carefully matched components tailored to the way that person listens. Where is that financial and performance divide actually at? I'm guessing it will clear up fairly soon as the reviews begin to emerge.

So, all things being equal, there surely are better combinations out there than the PW duo for many people. But things (money) are never equal and PS Audio is going to satisfy a whole lot of us I think. It certainly is for me.

agreed Shazam. i've been asking how it stacks up against big money gear out of curiosity.....not expectations of equality.

my pair continues to impress. still in awe of the sound coming out. just got my first 3 DVD-A's and was further blown away by what this duo can do. between these new DVD-A's and all the 192, 96 and 88 downloads i've burned.....my PWT/PWD is exceeding every expectation i had going in. but then i had realistic expectations to begin with.

agree on your value proposition too...getting this sound for 4k (using trade program) is a *huge bang* for the bucks spent imo.

I should hope that anything costing three to eleven times more would sound better. Just how much better can digital sound though? I just hooked my PWD up and it is incredible right out of the box via coax. Once the Bridge is installed via internal I2S it should sound even better.

I can understand why the newer (latest) and pricey digital gear might sound better - considering the newest technology (i.e.: new filtering systems that specifically address "pre-ringing" - such as Meridian/s new apodising filter; and the newest technology designed to address jitter issues). What I can't really come to believe is how anything with older technology can (or should) sound better (even if they were once the proverbial “kings of the hill”) - there have been some comparisons to really great - but older (antiquated), gear here. That the new PS gear is only listed at $3,000 (each) is truly something to be very excited about.