Perfect Wave DAC Owner Unite - Page 53

And at what volume?  I find the Audeze kind of lifeless at very low volumes.  Crank up to 80dB see if the vocals are still flat.  The other side of this is that PS Audio gear is generally warm and bottom heavy.  If thats not to your liking, then the PWD2 is really never going to do it for you especially paired to the LCD-3 which doesn't correct for this like an HD800 might.

Edited by Solude - 10/26/12 at 6:53am

 

That is not at all how my PWD II DAC sounds.

What cables are you using on yours?

I don't have mine yet... border has it ;)  Just regurging what reviews have said.  Which is one of the reasons I ordered one, I like those characteristics.  Is your PWD2 bass light?

 

No, not that either.

I feel it's pretty neutral and well balanced.

You'll see

I always keep the volume set to 100%

Solude: In the past, I've noticed that the LCD's sound better with the volume turned up, and while it's an improvement in this case, something is still off. As for the IEMs, I haven't tried them on the BA in a long time (and don't use them much at all in general). The IEMs tend to make a buzzing sound when connected to the BA; I assume from their high sensitivity.

At this point, the easiest thing I can do is have Audeze take a look at the headphones and decide if all is sound. If they check out ok, my next step will be to get the PX-4's tested.

 

What reviews say the Perfect Wave DAC is warm or bass heavy? 

 

I have owned a number of DACs, including from Ayon and North Star.  I like the Perfect Wave DAC so much that I bought two, one for my stereo rig, one for my headphone rig.  The Perfect Wave DAC is extremely well-balanced across the frequency spectrum.  It is warm compared to some other DACs, but only because a lot of DACs result in digititis and listener fatigue or were designed for professional monitoring (e.g. Benchmark). 

All of them?  

 

Just like the Ayre QB-9 is always well received but dinged for being light handed.  We are talking audiophile level products here so its not like comparing some tiny bookshelf speakers to that 16 year old kid's vibrating car.  Just within the range of neutral, PS falls on far side of warm and Ayre of the lean side.  Or to quote Stereophile...

 

warm The same as dark, but less tilted. A certain amount of warmth is a normal part of musical sound.

 

lean Very slightly bass-shy. The effect of a very slight bass rolloff below around 500Hz. Not quite "cool."

Gentlemen. I have 2 Question:

 

- web radio & streaming services :With the iPad interface can i access to web radio & streaming services for which i have à direct web Address and an account ( ie NOT through iTune because I need to access to their web interface to get their complète service) . For exemple. Www.qobuz.com. And. Www.aupeo.com. ? 

 

- Silent server : Any news about its availability ? Tanks

Edited by bmichels - 10/27/12 at 2:50am

I don't think you can do what you want through the bridge, but if you have a computer set up by USB, you can use your ipad as a remote desktop to your computer using something like PocketCloud.  That way, you can run whatever you want off of the computer as if you were sitting in front of it.

Nice trick. Tanks

Hi Solude,

 

Have you compared the Octave to the PWD mk2 ? Please let us know what you're impressions are .

 

Thank you

Oh I will, but it hasn't come in yet.  Should be here Monday or Tuesday.  Probably should have waited to update my sig and profile ;)

The MK2 DAC ships with firmware version 2.1.0.  With that firmware, the DAC is not warm in the least.  I found it to be bright, edgy, and fatiguing.  I have an upgraded version of the MK1 DAC, so was able to install an older version of the firmware, 2.0.2, which is a lot more listenable.  If you have a new MK2 DAC, not one that was upgraded from an MK1, you are stuck with 2.1.0.  There is a six page thread on PS Audio's forum where owners post reviews, impressions, gripes about 2.1.0 -- the vast majority do not like 2.1.0 because they also find that with that firmware installed, the DAC is not easy to listen to, i.e. not warm or dark.  If you want to infer from the Computer Audiophile review that the DAC is warm, go ahead, although the reviewer never uses that term.  You can also listen to what actual owners have to say. The DAC has been around for four years now, with the MK2 version out for about a year, so there are plenty of legitimate reviews and impressions out there from people with skin in the game.

 

Regardless of firmware or version (MK1 or MK2), the Perfect Wave DAC sounds lean compared to both the Ayon CD-2 and the North Star M192, both of which have better, deeper bass than the PWD.