I'm still waiting on the Bridge, so in the mean time a little comparison is in order.
The PWD is running SPDIF in via a Illuminati DV-75 digital cable being fed my Exemplar Audio modified Oppo BDP-83SE (My albeit biased choice for best mod of the Oppo player). The sampling rate of the PWD is set for Native which is just fine considering that the disc being used for this quick comparison is the Classic Records HDAD of Alan Parsons "I Robot" this is one of the Classic Records fantastic rare DVD-A discs that takes advantage of the seldom used 24/192 Stereo capability of DVD-A. The Filter option is set for Auto, to match volume the PWD has been turned down 1 click on it's volume control to match the output of the Exemplar exactly. Cables are SE vs Balanced Siltech's (otherwise identical). The outputs of both are running into my Parasound JC-2 preamplifier then my JC-1 Monos to a set of Usher BE-20 Loudspeakers. Power for both sources is coming from a PS Audio PPP.
I'm sorry but for those of you looking for me to declare a definitive winner in this contest are going to be disappointed. Both sources are uniformly Outstanding! The PWD has perhaps the smallest degree of extra warmth in the lower midrange, whereas the Exemplar BDP-83SE is perhaps a slightly bit more precise sounding, and I'm talking about degrees that are so small that with multiple auditions of the same tracks the differences are still nearly inaudible.
Both players as configured are world class, and I do mean world class sources. Both will retain places of pride in my He-Man Speaker Rig. The Exemplar will see duty playing all SACD's, and occasional duty playing DVD-A's. As far as Redbook 16/44.1 files are concerned that comparison has yet to be made, and it'll have to wait fot the Bridge to come in a week or so.
I'm truly excited about the prospects of the PWD/Bridge system, if it can maintain or possibly even improve on the sound quality that I'm currently getting feeding the PWD via SPDIF and add the functionality of computer sourced UPnP playback it will be a revolutionary product. Which takes nothing away from the Exemplar Oppo BDP-83SE Player. It gives world class audio play back of every silver disc that I can throw at it, and it's an awesome Blu-Ray player to feed my 1080P Projector. With either of these sources it looks as if you get to have your cake and eat it to.
The one thing that this comparison has reiterated for me is that everyone interested in achieving the best fidelity from your system needs to snap up as many of the Classic Records HDAD High Resolution DVD-A discs as you can before they totally disappear. I've got a dozen or so, and they are among my most prized discs in my collection. It's a massive shame that Classic Records has closed up shop, they were the only label that saw and took advantage of the best aspect of DVD-A discs (24/192 Stereo).
Now all I have to do is figure out how to get the 24/192 files onto my computer for playback and my personal archive of course.
Happy Listening -I'll add more once I get the Bridge.