spritzer Posted November 18, 2011 Report Posted November 18, 2011 It's been a while since I read the Art but is the chapter on how capacitors magically change after 100 hours of use? That would be quite handy for the audiophiles... I remember some Esoteric owners claiming their players needed 1200 hours to "settle in". I'm sure that has nothing to do with the crappy opamp phase splitter used to driver the balanced outputs on top of the shoddy outputstage...
jvlgato Posted November 18, 2011 Report Posted November 18, 2011 I'm going to take a closer look at my network setup first, I suspect that is to blame. I use an older plug in network extender which uses the house electricity wiring to extend the network. I'll contact Dennis if I still have trouble. Thanks for the info. So I upgraded the 'network via house electricity' thingamabob, and no problems since. 24/96, here I come!
monsieurguzel Posted November 22, 2011 Report Posted November 22, 2011 For any of you interested, the MK.II upgrades are up: http://www.psaudio.com/products/audio/media-players/pwd-mki-to-mkii Seems to be a pretty neat upgrade, especially since all the inputs are now going through the so called Digital Lens. Makes the DAC a whole lot more versatile in my opinion.
manaox2 Posted November 22, 2011 Report Posted November 22, 2011 (edited) There is also a decent deal on the PWD mk1 version on Audiogon, could make the mk2 for under $2500. Edited November 22, 2011 by manaox2
monsieurguzel Posted November 22, 2011 Report Posted November 22, 2011 I got mine for under $2000 over a year ago and haven't regretted my purchase one bit. The rest of my system has changed multiple times over the past couple years but this DAC has been steady with me. I think it's a really well priced piece of equipment for $2000-2500 and has enough innovation, upgradeability, and expandability to last people a long time.
DouglasQuaid Posted November 22, 2011 Report Posted November 22, 2011 Since most all of my listening is done through usb, I'm tempted to pick up this board for the improved USB connection. Then again, spending another $800 takes the PWD a bit past the pricepoint I was originally wanting to pay for a DAC.
The Monkey Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Posted November 30, 2011 Officially up on the website. It will be interesting to see if dealers can offer any breaks on the upgrades.
jvlgato Posted November 30, 2011 Report Posted November 30, 2011 Are you going for it, Dinny? I'm pretty happy with mine, I think I'll wait.
The Monkey Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Posted November 30, 2011 Right now I'm 50-50, but I will probably do it to preserve the resale value. But maybe that doesn't even make a difference. If I do get it, I will be going through LiquidHiFi. I'm not psyched by the prospect of an upgrade that I know I won't really be able to tell makes a big difference or not...
jvlgato Posted November 30, 2011 Report Posted November 30, 2011 I'd be more excited for it if I used the USB and/or coax inputs, since those will newly go through the Lens thingy (I think). Why Liquid HiFi? No early discount/self-install?
monsieurguzel Posted November 30, 2011 Report Posted November 30, 2011 Hey, seems you've been quite happy with the unit this whole time and haven't had too many complains SQ wise. Why bother upgrading then if you don't like the prospect of investing more into the unit. I decided to upgrade mine...if I don't care much about the upgrade I'll just return it. PS Audio is usually very good about their 30 day money back guarantee.
deepak Posted November 30, 2011 Report Posted November 30, 2011 Officially up on the website. It will be interesting to see if dealers can offer any breaks on the upgrades. $800 looks like a steep upgrade for a DAC that sells for ~ $1700-1800 on the used market?
The Monkey Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Posted December 1, 2011 I'd be more excited for it if I used the USB and/or coax inputs, since those will newly go through the Lens thingy (I think). Why Liquid HiFi? No early discount/self-install? I corresponded with Ron and while he won't have the upgrade kit until Jan, he said he probably can beat the early adopter price. Things cold change, im sure. Regardless, I've liked dealing with him and try to give business to the small dealers when possible.
Mr.Sneis Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 Liquid HiFi is good peoples, I wonder if you can get more info out of him on the exact price.
jvlgato Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 Well, I certainly am in favor of supporting the little guy, esp if that little guy is also a really good guy. And if he can beat or at least compete with the usual prices, well, all the better!
The Monkey Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Posted December 1, 2011 Yeah, the only risk is that since he will only get the upgrade kits after the New Year, one misses out on the PSA early adopter special. In the event that Liquid HiFi for some reason can't offer the good price (and I have no reason to think that's the case) then you miss out. It's a risk I'm willing to take.
The Monkey Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Posted December 2, 2011 Reks, I like the way mine sounds. Is it worth the price? I don't know about that. But you're right about getting a deal used, especially once the mk2 becomes widely available. On these units, however, if you're going used I would try to find a way to get the warranty/registration officially transferred if possible, along with the original receipt. We don't know about the longevity of these things, yet, and I think something like the LCD screen easily could decide to fuck up at some point. None of that is very helpful, is it?
deepak Posted December 2, 2011 Report Posted December 2, 2011 not particularly. What is wrong with the Cap? Man you without a Cap is like Birgir without Stax O2
The Monkey Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Posted December 2, 2011 To you DIY wizards out there. Will the old boards of the MK1 units be of any use for other projects?
Pars Posted December 2, 2011 Report Posted December 2, 2011 the output stops when the source is changed. i have to turn it off, reseat a pair of cables, and then turn it back on. that USUALLY fixes the issue. at least until the source changes again. at minimum it's one board replacement to fix, and probably two boards. just not cost effective, especially since it's kinda flakey in general. Have you had anyone look at it Reks? There is a thread about muting problems (which sounds like a possibility with yours) on diyaudio... unfortunately the OP didn't bother posting any resolution. Hate when people don't follow up on shit like that http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/163463-crazy-cd-player-problem-completely-muted.html
monsieurguzel Posted December 2, 2011 Report Posted December 2, 2011 Yeah, the longevity of these units hasn't been vetted for yet, but considering the old DLIIIs are so prevalent and with little/no problems, I have pretty good faith in my PWD. Mine is about 2 years old now and has never has never missed a beat. As for auditioning the unit, I feel that dacs are kinda hard to judge unless it is in your system and you have it for an extended amount of time. I've only heard it through the Bridge and USB, the later is pretty good but I find that the bass is a little less controlled than through Bridge. Overall though I highly recommend it. PS Audio sometimes rubs me the wrong way, but I think they did a commendable effort on this dac and have obviously spent a ton of money on R&D as well as building the infrastructure for the Bridge. It's pretty hard to find any other dacs out there that match the flexibility, feature set, and damn good sound at this price point (when buying used).
Dreadhead Posted December 2, 2011 Report Posted December 2, 2011 Listen to some crappily recorded music. You should hear the difference with clipping etc. Also sometimes the can fix some "sizzle" from cymbals or other highly dynamics sounds poorly downsampled recordings.
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