PS Audio PWD MkII vs W4S DAC2

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

Have the W4S DAC-2 paired with PWT and Bryston BDP-1. PWT coonected by I2s and the Bryston transport by AES/EBU. I am very happy with the performance of the digital sources. My understanding from what I read is the W4S DAC is pretty close to the first version of the PWD, but the MK-2 is a big step up. With the Bryston, I don't really need the bridge. Guess I'll need to audition the new PSAudio DAC.

Duck,
Those are two great transports. Is one better than the other? Ive read great things about the PWT and Bdp 1.

Was wondering the same thing re: W4S vs PWD II. Using the Audiophelleo2 with the W4S was a huge jump, understand that using the Offramp is potentially even better...
With the NativeX implementation wondering if PWD II takes that to a new level? Would appreciate anyone's thoughts or experiences...
Use lossless files off a Mac mini primarily, occasionally will use an Oppo as a transport.