Whest ps.30r

OK...

Paperw8

So I'm about 8 weeks into the Whest PS.30RDT Special Edition.
How do you want it? It is so far ahead of the PS.30RDT it's a bloody joke - excuse my French :)

I had the chance to compare them directly at a fellow audiophiles house who has a PS.30RDT. I took my PS.30RDT Special Edition over and after re-warming my unit up we played it against a fully warmed up, never unplugged RDT.

Fellow has a SME 20/ Graham Phantom/ Orpheus. The RDT and 30RDT Special Edition were both setup for 65dB/ 100ohm.
The Orpheus sounded amazing in this setup.

First off:

Kind of Blue - a classic and much played disc. The RDT plays it with pace and energy and with fantastic vibrancy.
The soundstage is wide and deep and 'sweet' if you can apply that to a soundstage.

The 30RDT Special Edition is, well, quite a few levels up from the RDT. To start with, every instrument as well as the soundstage and air have an extra dimension. The whole bandwidth seems to have weight and this is from top to bottom. Yes it's fast but the pace and timing are staggeringly real. You 'feel' the pace the musicians are playing at and follow the small increases in timing as if they were BIG. The soundstage is rich with 'stuff' (harmonics?). Not just a big playing field but an area where musicians do their stuff in. But the most striking difference is the extra resolution. Yes the PS.30RDT SE resolves SO MUCH MORE and as it was warming up, the distance between the 2 became larger and larger.
John Coltrane was excellent. Hearing him in this system through the Special Edition was like listening to a child's first words. The Special Edition makes everything 'Special'.

Pheobe Snow - First LP. Although I only own 1 of hers I don't own this one but will very soon. The vocals are excellent, real with life and this on the SE. Again the soundstage is big and real, with all the instruments held in a rock solid, 4 dimensional space. The 3 dimensional stuff belongs to the PS.30RDT! :))

We played a lot more LPs of course but it was clear that nothing was going to phase the PS.30RDT Special Edition or able to make the PS.30RDT outperform its big brother.
They are VERY different beasts that share just a few things.

1. The case shape
2. The PS.30RDT tag
3. The company Name

And that is it.

Paperw8, having read some of your posts here I see you are a bit skeptical about peoples claims - and it is good to be, but this one is really a no brainer. Having heard just how much better it is to the PS.30RDT makes me feel I have won the lottery.

how does the PS .30RDT compare to the big MC REF V??
is it worth the extra cash for the MC REF V?

Not sure where you're located, but there's a pretty large price difference between the DT and the Ref. In the US the DT now retails for $5K, while the Ref is at $20K. The new DT SE comes in between at $8.5K and is supposed to offer some of the Ref's circuit advancements in a single chassis, simplified design.

For all intent and purposes, the Whest Ref V is a statement component which James Henriott uses as a test bench to push the envelope and provide 'trickle down' technology to enable him to bring a truly reference, more affordable product to market. He doesn't sell that many Ref V's! That current 'real world' reference is the PS.30RDT SE which pretty much defines the state of the art in practical terms.

Crystalref...

yes, it's true that the MC REF V is a statement product and as such sales won't be in the same ballpark as something like the new 30RDT Special Edition. But as a bench mark for the company it is superb and can see why it is important to have such a product in the range. Many companies work on the basis that hopefully adding a few 'blackgates' and 'vishay' products will upgrade the sound of their already average product. I am a firm believer of trickle-down as long as the product at the 'summit' is worthy of being there.

As to how good is the MC REF V.... I'm slowly saving up for one!...it's phenomenal.