PS Audio PerfectWave DAC Upgrade

What has been really striking to me is how the sound quality of the MK2 Perfect Wave DAC depends so substantially on the firmware used. With an SD card reader, it is quite easy to demo the three versions of the DAC firmware that PS Audio has made available on its forum. Buy a $5 SD card reader at Radio Shack and you can try each version very easily.

Today, I installed and listened to all three firmware versions in succession for about 45 minutes each (with the PW Transport as my sourcee), starting with firmware version 2.1.0. This is the firmware that is shipping with the latest upgrade kits and is factory installed on new MK2 DACs. With 2.1.0, the sound quality is very dynamic and very extended. However, the upper frequencies seem much too forward for my tastes, making the DAC seem somewhat artificial and ultimately fatiguing. The best aspect of 2.1.0 is that bass is really impressive. It is very deep, very resolved, and moves a lot of air. If downstream equipment is fairly warm and you are looking for better bass, this firmware might be a good choice.

I also tried version 2.0.3 today. This version is supposedly similar to version 2.0.2, although 2.0.3 corrects some minor programming issue that affects the S/PDIF input. (I have used the S/PDIF input with all three firmware versions without any difficulty.) Version 2.0.3 is less fatiguing than version 2.1.0, but bass seems overly lean to me. This firmware might work best if you have a powered sub.

Version 2.0.2 in my system still sounds head and shoulders better than the other versions. The mid-range is simply transfixing and the bass is still really solid -- perhaps not as resolved as with version 2.1.0, but still really dynamic and pleasing. With version 2.0.2, everything falls into place so coherently and musically that I stop thinking about equipment altogether and just listen to the music. Vocals really shine with 2.0.2. Image placement also seems better with this firmware.

So, experimentation with firmware (if possible) is definitely worth the effort.

I dare say that opinions of this Perfect Wave DAC in both reviews and in some DAC shootouts I have read about on other forums are probably not very meaningful. I would not like the DAC very much, especially in light of the price, if it was loaded with version 2.1.0 or even version 2.0.3. With version 2.0.2, my guess is that it would beat all comers in the general price range. (I also question the validity of DAC shootouts and reviews when owners compare the Perfect Wave DAC to Weiss, Berkeley, or AMR, using a computer as a source. The Perfect Wave DAC was not designed as a USB DAC. The Perfect Wave DAC has a special synergy with the Perfect Wave Transport, with sound quality leagues better than from other digital sources, including computers, cheap transports, and even PS Audio's Bridge.)

Great report, Mcondon.

The Perfect Wave DAC has a special synergy with the Perfect Wave Transport, with sound quality leagues better than from other digital sources, including computers, cheap transports, and even PS Audio's Bridge

There must be a way to equal that special synergy using a computer as the source. It's the same data, you just have to deliver it to the DAC in the same way, right? Would love to hear Paul McGowan's thoughts on this.

Mcondon, PS audio is specifically positioning the DAC as a network steaming device. The ultimate goal is to get the bridge interface to sound as good as the PWT, which theoretically it should be capable of. I personally went from using the bridge to the AES/EBU interface (I inserted a Trinnov processor in the chain before the PWD MKII), and found the differences between the bridge (I2S) and AES/EBU minimal after the MKII upgrade.

I never fiddled with firmware versions myself, and I am hugely sceptical of assertions about a DAC you would not like with firmware 2.1.0 turning into an unbeatable giant killer DAC with firmware version 2.0.2, but that's just me.

does anyone have a theory as to why there are so many pwds, for sale, given the availability of upgrades ??

Edorr, no reason to be skeptical or to blindly believe my assertions. You can buy an SD card reader at Radio Shack or Best Buy for under $10 and then try each firmware version yourself.

But I am not the only one who notices substantial differences in sound quality among different versions of the firmware. PS Audio's own community forum has a thread on the subject. The vast majority of owners who contributed to that thread preferred 2.0.2 pretty strongly to version 2.1.0. Similarly, Head-Fi has a massive thread about the Perfect Wave DAC, and toward the end, a number of people stated that they preferred the sound of the original MK1 DAC to the MK2 upgrade, finding the latter to be too bright and fatiguing for headphone listening. These folks were told to try 2.0.2 in place of 2.1.0. They then reported back that they were very happy with the upgrade once they had installed 2.0.2.

Mrtennis, I have no idea why so many Perfect Wave DACs have come up for sale here in the last year or two. The most benign explanation is that the Perfect Wave DAC had a very high market share after it was first introduced, so it naturally represents a large share of used sales now. The other possibility is that a fair number of owners are not happy with sound quality or with the complexity of setting up the Bridge + NAS + eLyric, and want something simpler or cheaper. Unfortunately, Audiogon provides a regular reminder that digital equipment is a lousy investment.