[minimus]

Drew,

I am looking to buy a new CD player. You have good things to say about the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC + Transport. Does this combo sound better to you than the Cary 303? How about relative to the Cary 306? I am also looking at the Meridian G08, which has a lot of fans on Head-fi. How would you rank order these digital sources for redbook playback in a headphone system? (Note: I already own the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC + Transport as the source in my speaker setup and love it. I am just wondering how it compares to other well-regarded CD players in a headphone setup.)

Thanks,
Mark

 

[drubrew]

Which direction you go depends on the ultimate goal at hand. If all you will ever do is play CDs then the new Cary Audio 303T SACD is the way to go. It is the best sounding of the 3 units. And yes it sounds better than its older bog brother the Cary Audio 306Pro SACD at $1500 less

The PS Audio is no slouch though. It is a very close second but offers an incredible interface. Touch screens on both units. Cover Art on the transport, a network bridge due out around Xmas, and firmware upgradeable. Once the network bridge is available you will be able to stream music over the network and there wil be an iTouch/iPhone app that will control the units and stream music from your server. Both the Cary and PS Audio have USB inputs, both will do High Resolution Audio. The Cary will do SACD. The PS Audio will not. The PS Audio has a lot more flexibility. The Cary has TUBES.....

PS Audio Perfect Wave Info
Cary Audio 303T SACD info

I will own both. The PS Audio is in my office where I stream internet radio and music from my massive music server. The Cary Audio 303T SACD will be in my reference audio system.

Hope that helps

 

[minimus]

Yes, that does help. Thanks.

 

[markmaxx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minimus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Drew, I am looking to buy a new CD player. I am also looking at the Meridian G08, which has a lot of fans on Head-fi. Thanks, Mark

Mark,
In your profile you show you already have a GO 8?

@Drew I read all the info in the link posted about the PS audio Transport DAC, No price? How much?

 

[drubrew]

All the prices are on our main PS Audio page. That is the link to the extra info on the units. MSRP is $6000 for the set up. Contact me direct for your HeadFi Pricing.

I also want to note that if USB input is important in your scheme, the Cary Audio is the only player on the market to be able to recieve a 24bitbit/192kHz sampling rate. The PS Audio will do 24bit/96kHz on the USb and once the Bridge is available it can do 24bitbit/192kHz sampling rate over the network connection.
Cary Audio CD 303T SACD Professional Version MSRP $6500. Contact me direct for your HeadFi Pricing.
[size=medium]

[/size]