has anyone tried PS Audio perfect wave duo

took my pwt/pwd over to a friends house 2 weeks ago for a demo. we tried a variety of combination's and connections using his much more expensive dac and transport (his whole system is MUCH higher end then anything i own).

tried his dac with the pwt then his transport with the pwd. his equipment alone sounded "better" then either of these combination's, regardless of connection type (SPDIF, TOS and AES/EBU). pwt and his DAC using AES/EBU sounded great and came the closest in both our opinion. we both agreed that the AES/EBU connection sounded best in general and the TOS sounded worst.

without a doubt.....the pwt/pwd sounded it's best when used together via the hdmi connection. detail, soundstage depth and overall smoothness were much improved vs any of the combo's and connections we tried. regarding the comparison between his stuff and my pwt/pwd?.....all i can say is he has since ordered and is waiting for his new pwt/pwd.

i'm not looking to get involved in the relative sound quality debate either. thus my reasoning for not naming his gear. i will tell you that it cost over 2x as much and is made by a very respected name. on the other hand...it is 2 years old too.

the pwt/pwd really shine when used together with a high quality i2s/hdmi connection. i use ps audio's I2S-12 solid silver line and absolutely love it. strongly recommend giving it a demo if you're in the market.

I own the PW DAC and Transport and would agree with general impressions. The combination of the DAC and Transport connected via HDMI/I2S creates an amazing synergy that makes for a fantastic source. This is the best redbook playback I have ever heard, hands down. But...I would not rush out to buy the PW DAC as a standalone unit because other digital sources plugged in via SPDIF and AES inputs sound pretty good but not amazing. If future products that are in the works at PS Audio bring the sound quality of other sources plugged into the DAC up to the level of the DAC/Transport combo, then it will be a phenomenal system that offers the flexibility of a wide range of digital sources with wonderful sound quality.

If future products that are in the works at PS Audio bring the sound quality of other sources plugged into the DAC up to the level of the DAC/Transport combo, then it will be a phenomenal system that offers the flexibility of a wide range of digital sources with wonderful sound quality.

PS Audio is coming out with a $500 bridge to do just that, first part of the year I believe.

Supposed to be this of mext month.

The Bridge won't be on the market until after the first of the year. PSA is also working on a dedicated NAS that I believe will include a server. The combination of the two (Bridge and NAS - in conjunction with the PWD) should take music servers to a whole new level.