PS Audio PWD MkII vs W4S DAC2

when you compare dacs, you have to ask what transports are being used with them.

a particular transport that works well with one dac may not match as well with another.

so you have to compare dac/transport combinations. even if someone has compared both dacs with a particular transport, the outcome may change if the transport changes.

I agree with Mr. Tennis. I hear people commit this error all the time.

Neal,

Have you seen Cordesman's review of the MKII in TAS? You can download it at the PSAudio website for free.

Mr Tennis is spot on imho. I'd go one step further and specify/consider connection type and cabling. Sgr put it perfectly a few years ago when he said the pwd was " cameilian like"......or sensitive to its surroundings.

I found the pwd responded to even the slightest of tweaks/adjustments and changes. It's the first piece of gear I've owned where improved vibration control actually became audible and easy to detect. Connection type and wire are even more so.

You can make this dac sound any way you via supporting cast. The dac itself does/adds nothing to the recording (which could be bad for poor recordings). But for good recordings and hi res, I'm yet to hear a more musical dac.

Getting the pwd1 and not upgrading it to mk2 should be considered a crime =)

Yes....the mk2 sounds that good!

Thanks for your comments. I principally use a Bryston BDP-1 digital player to feed the W4S DAC2 with a Stealth Sexter AES/EBU digicable.. It is a great product. Occassionally use my modded CEC TL-1x with a Kharma RCA digicable. Best transport I have ever heard.

I have read the TAS review, which is what prompted my question. Still not sure whether to try the Mk II.

Neal

I don't have much experience with the W4S, aside from having heard it at shows. I always thought it sounded great in those venues, but couldn't make a fair comparison. But, since the thread started, I picked up a PWD Mk II and PWT, and it's pretty safe to say that my digital needs for the next few years are taken care of. I've been extremely happy with the units.

I'd spent a bit of time in the PS Audio room at RMAF after the PWD/PWT debuted and had been impressed with it then. The fact that they offered customers who had purchased the original unit a clear upgrade path reinforced my decision that it was the right way for me to go. As of now, I am just using the PWT with the bulkier HDMI cable from Blue Jeans Cable. Perhaps down the road, I'll check out the Harmonic Technology Magic cable, but for now I have no complaints. I've also been using various laptops to stream and play back music files, and again, it sounds great. Whatever they are doing in terms of the Digital Lens, does seem to work to minimize differences in transports.

Down the road, I'll check out the Bridge and Silent Server, but I'm waiting to see how that plays out, in terms of their software eLyric and its development. I'm fine with Decibel, Foobar2k, and Rhythmbox for now, on their respective OS platforms. It will be nice to simplify down to one program for my stereo, but it seems to be a work in progress, according to the PS Audio forum reports. I feel fairly confident that they'll arrive at a nicely integrated digital front end solution, but I'm still going to wait a bit before jumping on it. I have most of my files in FLAC and don't have a strong desire to go the Apple music server route. I have high hopes for the Silent Server, but will wait until it's out for a while before getting that and the bridge. I may also look into the music servers sold by Sonore, which use Linux. We'll see.

If you haven't seen it, this review of the Mk II is also worthwhile reading for someone interested in the unit:

http://www.hifi-advice.com/PWD-MKII-review.html