Did u check to see if the XLR output is 110 ohm AES ? I'm curious.
The Perfectwave transport is a brilliant design.
The Perfectwave transport is a brilliant design.
Compatibility question regarding a Chord 2Qute and a PS Audio Perfectwave Transport
After much deliberation I've decided on a 2Qute DAC and have located a used one in good shape.
My transport is a PS Audio Perfectwave memory player. I didn't think much about the compatibility of these two units until just now, when I'm about to buy the 2Qute.
....Here's the issue:
The PS Audio transport output options are (in order of quality according to the company), I2S, S/PDIF via balanced XLR, Coax via RCA and the optical.
The 2Qute's inputs options are: USB, BNC Coax and TOSLink optical.
Here's my question: From my reading it seems the 2Qute does much better with a USB input (the only input that's galvanically isolated). Some go so far as to say if they had to use only the coax input on the 2Qute, they wouldn't want this DAC.
While separately the PS Audio transport and 2Qute are great, combining them forces you to use the coax connections which, on both units, are sub optimal.
....So you have two units that are pretty decent on their own and them combine them and have to use the least SQ optimal output/input.
Am I looking at this correctly?
Is this combination self defeating?
Kind of bummed as I was getting myself pretty sold on the 2Qute.
Thanks.
--My speakers, amp and preamp are Magnepan 1.7's, Butler TDB 2250 and a Modwright.
My transport is a PS Audio Perfectwave memory player. I didn't think much about the compatibility of these two units until just now, when I'm about to buy the 2Qute.
....Here's the issue:
The PS Audio transport output options are (in order of quality according to the company), I2S, S/PDIF via balanced XLR, Coax via RCA and the optical.
The 2Qute's inputs options are: USB, BNC Coax and TOSLink optical.
Here's my question: From my reading it seems the 2Qute does much better with a USB input (the only input that's galvanically isolated). Some go so far as to say if they had to use only the coax input on the 2Qute, they wouldn't want this DAC.
While separately the PS Audio transport and 2Qute are great, combining them forces you to use the coax connections which, on both units, are sub optimal.
....So you have two units that are pretty decent on their own and them combine them and have to use the least SQ optimal output/input.
Am I looking at this correctly?
Is this combination self defeating?
Kind of bummed as I was getting myself pretty sold on the 2Qute.
Thanks.
--My speakers, amp and preamp are Magnepan 1.7's, Butler TDB 2250 and a Modwright.
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- 18 posts total
The PWT is excellent sounding via rca coax, just use a good quality cable. For the Chord if you question their coax output quality just get an USB to coax adapter. Why would the Chord coax be "inferior "? I’m skeptical of that assertion. I'm inclined to agree with low rider and believe a straight coax link should sound fine (with a good quality cable). Charles |
I’m doubtful that connecting to the USB interface of the DAC would be practicable or even possible in this case. While of course there are many USB-to-coax adapters that are available, I don’t know of any adapters that convert in the opposite direction. A device providing a USB output would have to either be a computer or somehow emulate a computer’s USB-related functionality. And if there are such devices I would question how well they perform. Lowrider, as I interpret various statements in the manual for the PWT its XLR output appears to simply be balanced AES/EBU, presumably 110 ohms. I say that despite there being some potentially misleading statements about the signals on that output being "S/PDIF encoded." I have no first-hand knowledge of either component, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles is correct in anticipating that a straight coax link with a good quality 75 ohm digital cable (preferably RCA to BNC, or alternatively RCA to RCA + an RCA to BNC adapter) would work fine. If you decide to proceed in that manner, it may be a good idea to ask PS Audio if they would recommend a particular length for the digital cable. The optimal length may depend to some extent on the unspecified risetimes and falltimes of the signal provided by the transport, among other variables involving the cable itself and the accuracy of the impedance match between the cable and each of the components. Regards, -- Al |
Hi lowrider57, From the PWT manual describing the outputs, "The PWT offers multiple digital output choices including: XLR (AES/EBU), RCA and TOSLINK (S/PDIF) as well as I�S" And in discussing the XLR output it further states, " XLR. This is a balanced S/PDIF encoded output that complies with standards set by the AES/EBU (Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcasting Union). This can output up to 192kHz 24 bit data " Here's the PWT manual link, http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PWT.pdf In my original post, I got the " S/PDIF via balanced XLR " comment from a stereomojo review you can read here, http://www.stereomojo.com/PS%20AUDIO%20PERFECTWAVE%20TRANSPORT%20AND%20DAC.htm/PSADUIOPERFECTWAVETRA... As this stuff is new to me, the quote I pulled from the stereomojo article could very well be "off". --I wouldn't know the difference. ....Although I'm starting to pick some of this up. How do you read the PWT manual and what it says about XLR output? |
- 18 posts total