PS Audio PWD MkII vs W4S DAC2

I think it's worth noting that quite a few Meitner BiDat fanatics have switched to the PWD2. This crowd are known for their allegiance to "musical" DACs in a "reasonable" price range.

That said, I have to admit that the differences between the best 10 DACs could be considered relatively subtle. The reason I've settled on the PWD2 is that it hits my price/performance sweet spot. I'd have to spend more than twice its price to hear what I consider to be a significant improvement and I just don't have the green. Every DAC has a character and I could live with many of them. The PWD1 was a darned good DAC but it still had a somewhat digital quality that left me yearning for something better. With the PWD2, I find myself listening to my music and instead of focusing on my gear. What's that worth? I dunno, but I like it very much.

A final note: a buddy who moved on from the PWD1 to the Bel Canto battery powered flagship emailed me to ask whether I'd compared the PWD2 to the latest Bel Canto upgrade (MKII). I was unaware of the upgrade so my previous post does not apply to it. This is important because I trust my friend's good taste and he says the Bel Canto upgrade is stellar. The pace of digital improvement is crazy right now and I suspect strides in computing chips down the road will bring us to previously unattainable heights.

Actually it's Howard.

Now I am really confused!

I plan on attending the NY Audio Show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 2 weeks, and I am sure they will have a full array of DAC's to listen to , although one never kniows which particular component is making the difference.

Neal

I would giver Walter Leiderman at Underwood HiFi a call, as he carries both the Wyred 4 Sound and the Perfect Wave DACs. (He also prices the Perfect Wave DAC very "competitively", so the difference in actual price between the two DACs is not going to be as large the retail prices suggest.) I know that he told me that the W4S DAC2 was pretty close to the Perfect Wave DAC Mk 1. But that the Perfect Wave DAC Mk 2 is a big improvement over the Mk 1 version.

I personally own two sets of Perfect Wave DACs/Transports, one set for my stereo rig and one set for my headphone rig. I have owned them for a couple of years and -- despite changing virtually every other component in my system a few times, including preamp and power amp -- I have no desire to change my digital source. The Perfect Wave DAC/Transport is simply revelatory and was the single biggest upgrade to my system I have ever made. Larger than switching from a McIntosh MC275 power amp to a VAC Phi 200 power amp at a $5K jump in price. The Perfect Wave gear just seems to get digital "right". And I have tried a variety of other digital sources, including Ayon, Northstar, and Raysonic.

My one quibble with the Perfect Wave DAC was that the soundstage seemed a little narrow and didn't extend too far beyond the perimeter of my speakers. The MK2 version seems to address this quibble, creating a wider soundstage and better stereo separation. The MK2 version also has substantially better bass and improved inner detail/resolution. It is a significant upgrade over the MK1 version. My understanding from PS Audio is that the MK2 digital board also makes the Perfect Wave Transport somewhat less "essential", since every digital input (coaxial, AES/EBU, USB) now has the proprietary "digital lens" that dramatically reduces jitter and pre-ringing, making all inputs sound very nearly identical. I imagine one could now use a less expensive transport -- say an Oppo unit -- and still end up with fantastic sound quality.

Mcondon,

I think you're right on target about the digital lens. I'm auditioning the newest Shunyata digital XLR that is bettering my Harmonic Tech Audio Only HDMI to the I2S...something I didn't think was possible. I also find eupsample measly Pandora feed over a coax sounds significantly better than it ever did before the MKII board.

Btw, I bought my original PWD from Wally...great guy!