DAC's in general.....

[miklorsmith]

Cool, care to expand on where it did better than other choices?  Great feature set?  Better sound?

[Black Sand Cable]

It came down to two key areas for me:

- Cost relative to performance
- Overall sound

I ended up fooling around with over a dozen DAC's and time and time again the PS Audio unit held its own. The one DAC that clearly bested it lists for over $7K but with all things being relative, I didn't (nor did anybody else who heard the two side by side) think the price difference justified the performance difference as they were fairly close to each other.

I even managed to get my hands on the Bryston BDA-1 for a short period of time and although nice, I think the price is a little high at $2K. Don't get me wrong, this thing is sweet.They will sell a ton of them but at the end of the day, it's not what I need. If it sold for $1K and maybe even $1.5K, it would have been my DAC of choice. Myself and a few others compared it to the Benchmark, Lavry, PS Audio and a host of others and it did in fact beat a few of them out but did it beat them enough to justify double the price? At the end of the day each person who is looking at one is going to have to make that choice for themselves, but to me, the answer was no.

My entire adventure with DAC's was about finding something to use in conjunction with the streaming systems I offer but without breaking the bank. The PS Audio DAC fits the bill nicely and does 90% of what the Bryston does for half the price. For those with deeper pockets, the Bryston is a no brainier but the majority of people that I deal with are not going to spend $1K on a Sonos system and another $2K on a DAC.

At the end of this I must say that there are a lot of nice DAC's out there and some stuff that is complete over hyped junk.

[richidoo]

Thanks John, that is a nice wrap up.

http://www.psaudio.com/products/digital_link_iii.asp

[rollo]

At our Audiosyndrome meeting we heard the PS Audio DAC via a Mac laptop. Very impressed . The system was a AR LS17 linestage Mc Intosh SS amp and Vandy 3A sing.  Real nice synergy.
   We also heard a Audio Note Kit DAC1, also very impressive. The Audio Note grabbed my attention. Compared iot to my DAC killer the Lector CDP7 in my system. Again impressed. Was equal to or better than the King Lector. At one third the price and options up the ying yang itson the short list. There s a new Audio Note kit dealer in Canada now. Check it out.


charles

[BobM]

Hey Charlie, I just picked up an Ayre CX7e. Maybe one of these days we can compare it against your Lector. It sure made a nice improvement over the DIY modded Chinese DAC's that I've been playing with over the last few years.

Yeah, I finally stepped up and got something "better".

Bob

[richidoo]

I know the feeling Bob, I've been trying to get top sound on a budget for a long time. Anytime a true high end player compares to mine, it's curtains.   My Altmann DAC has always held up OK, but the latest comparison to Oracle DAC was a wipeout. I'm gonna try the Buffalo Sabre32 DAC and then if that's still "half assed cheapo junk" (my own term for high end audio on a low end budget) then I will start looking for something with more pedigree.

[rollo]

Hey Charlie, I just picked up an Ayre CX7e. Maybe one of these days we can compare it against your Lector. It sure made a nice improvement over the DIY modded Chinese DAC's that I've been playing with over the last few years.

Yeah, I finally stepped up and got something "better".

Bob

 Bob would love to hear it. It unfortunate that the real good ones are NOT cheap. Cheap is cheap. The tweaking and modding is fun and does have its rewards. However in the end nothing like a well designed DAC. IMO one needs to spend at LEAST $2000 [ Bryston].
  I'll give ya a call to come over with the Lector. Haven't heard your system for a while, should be fun. Give Pete a call.

charles

[richidoo]

There is/was a Bryston on AC for 1500.

[Black Sand Cable]

My next attempt at a DAC will be the new PerfectWave DAC from PS Audio. I received confirmation from the folks at PS Audio that I will be sent one along with the matching PerfectWave Transport mid August. If the initial reports are any indication, this thing should be one hell of a DAC. Having a great DAC and a music server rolled into one unit is almost too good to be true!

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/detail/perfectwave-dac

[lonewolfny42]

My next attempt at a DAC will be the new PerfectWave DAC from PS Audio. I received confirmation from the folks at PS Audio that I will be sent one along with the matching PerfectWave Transport mid August. If the initial reports are any indication, this thing should be one hell of a DAC. Having a great DAC and a music server rolled into one unit is almost too good to be true!

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/detail/perfectwave-dac

John....

I think you'll like this DAC. 
Had a chance to hear it at the June N.Y. Audio Rave meeting at toprounds/Mike's..
The fellow that brought it is a new dealer for PS Audio....showed up late...most at the Rave missed it...except for a few who stayed late. It sounded very good to me...have fun.

[lonewolfny42]

Came across this review on Stereo Mojo....(I didn't "hear" the transport)

[richidoo]

John, I think we will all be very interested to hear more about PS Audio's new DigiStack.  And we know you always tell it like it is!  On paper it sure looks promising.