Playback Designs MPD3 Audition

Doggie,

Great, detailed 'review'! Thanks for posting!!!

Jonathan, thanks for the offer. I don't have your email but you can email me at my the same userid (doggiehowser) at gmail.com

I understand the MPD3 has already been run in by Warwick prior to it reaching me :)

In any case, I have placed an order with PureMusic for my own MPS5. I have too many SACDs that need spinning ;)

I am the Bill mentioned in the post above.

First the MPD-3 is a good DAC - make no mistake about it.

But a number of people including myself have now heard it compared to another DAC I have - a level 2 PDX. Every single person preferred the PDX at 44.1. When upsampled the PD responded very well to it - even more than the PDX which can only go to 96K. Upsampled to 384K it did sound very good but while it was a lot closer the PDX still had the edge - it simply has more 'life'.

I have not tried it with DSD which I have been told is better again and it may topple the PDX that way - I will need to check it out.

Thanks
Bill

Bill let me recap your post..I am to understand THE LENEHAN PDX VER2 IS WHAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO ? CORRECT?. and at 44.1 the PDX outperformed the MPD3 by a wide margin but at upsampled rates the units were very close?..Also it is my understanding that the MPD upsamples all input to DSD .
Finally i have recently had in my home an audition of some highly regarded dacs, Weiss 202 ( 6900$) Esoteric k-03 ( 13000$) and some other lower end but also some fine pieces . SImaudio 300d (1900), Hegel hd 100 ( 1200) and The Playback bested these all by a wide margin. I did go t the Lenehan site and could not find price points for their PDX configurations nor a dealer here in the US. What is the Price of the PDX in comparison to the PB MPD3 6500 $. My analysis indicate not only was it the best sonically but also had the edge in future proofing it with 384 and DSD capabilities. Combining that aspect together with the higher rez features and a made in the USA tag ( yes an issue we are sensitive to in the Detroit Area)..made the MPD3 a no brainer for me!..look forward to your response Bill V

Zugisland,

http://lenehanaudio.com.au/index.php/products/pdx-usb-dac/pdx-dac-specification/pdx-dac-level-2.html

You can check the prices (in Australian dollar) here.

The Lenehan is IMHO a more rudimentary design: BB PCM1704 DACs stacked and linked to a tube output stage.

The 1704s are legendary and in the configuration Lenehan uses, supports only inputs of up to 24/96.

So there are some limitations in the kinds of media it can accept.

I've always maintained that what makes the Lenehan sound as good as it does is how the tube outputs complement the digital sound.

I expect you can get the MPD3 to sound similar with a good tube preamp if you liked how the Lenehan sounded.