FYI, Paul has said elsewhere they already bought a lifetime supply of the Oppo transport mechanism.
Iâm referring to the hardware media player, not the spinning disc reader. Either way, because theyâre buying it from another manufacturer, theyâre not cheap, which is why I doubt theyâd be able to bring something similar to the price levels the Stellar line is at.
Everything you see in black is 100% Oppoâs design. Itâs their media player board. The real magic happens when the data is given to PS Audioâs portion of the player from the Oppo board.
I cannot understand why Cambridge Audio can pull it off then, at a price of $449.99. Take a look at this product. Something like this but in the Stellar style and sound is what I have in mind:
I still believe it would be a worthy addition to the line and I would be willing to pay 1K for such a machine. Of course I imagined SA-CD playing would not be part of the deal, but we are all allowed to dream, arenât we? Sorry if I do not agree with your view on the matter.
Purchasing a used PWT would provide you with exactly this, but with better sound as well as an I2S output.
I get it, but I insist it does not look well with the Stellar line. They are designed as different lines, look different, they have got different sizes as well.
I would imagine PS Audio could essentially âportâ the PWT design to a cheaper model. The chassis on the PWT is much nicer than the one found on the Cambridge Audio CD player. Remove the touch screen and high end chassis the PWT has and bring it more in line with their entry level Stellar line. Cambridge Audio can do it because the cost of parts for that model is a lot less. Iâm sure itâs possible for PS Audio to do something similar but they may not want to.
The issue is that CD playback is kind of dead. How many units will PS Audio sell for just a CD player? Whatâs the ROI like? I doubt youâll see this happen and if you do itâs not likely to happen any time soon. This is why I recommended a PWT. Itâs going to sound great and is probably the only option out there (used) that will give you your I2S output at an appropriately priced level to match the Stellar lineup.
Performance is vastly more important to me than looks.
Looks and performance are not antagonistic. Actually, they are 100% compatible.
True, but I will not sacrifice performance for looks.
Thank you, Seegs, for developing my idea a little further w/o disqualifying it. You understood the kind of product I am talking about: something between an old kind of CD-transport and the PWT. They already have got the box: the SGC DAC without the knob. The blue display could be used for the transport and on the left side the black line in the middle could hide the slot for inserting the discs. They might also have the chasis: no touch-screen, no memory. Just a good transport and an I2S output, plus perhaps also a coaxial one. The main issue would be to make it a Stellar for many audiophiles like me who still would like to listen to the thousands of CDs.
I understand, Elk. Yes, neither would I. Anyway, Seegs understood the kind of product I am talking about. It does not seem to be such a long jump for PS Audio to take. I believe they have already got all the pieces in their factory. Thanks for your interest in his post.
I believe we all understand. It however appears unlikely to come to past.
Thus, I would put concerns of appearance aside and buy a PWT. You would obtain everything you ask for, but for looks.
The only question I have for you is; how long are you willing to wait for such a product? It could be many many months before a product like this came out if PS Audio were indeed developing it.
Letâs put it this way, if youâre not willing to wait it doesnât really matter the product you end up buying because it wouldnât match your Stellar setup. At least the PWT will have the same logo on the from panel. as your Stellar products. The same canât be said with a product like the Cambridge Audio CD player. I use an older PS Audio Power Plant Premier. It doesnât share the same chassis as my Directstream Sr, but just having the same sine wave logo on the front still lets me (and others) know itâs a product from same company. Just something to think about. I also find the chassis the PWT and Direcsttream uses looks decidedly more high end than the Stellar line up of products. You might just like having a PWT in your system due to the higher end looks.
I am in no hurry, as I have been ripping my CDs and I also have got an old Pioneer player. Anyway, you assume it is an easy task to get a used PWT at 1000 U$D. That might be in the USA, not in my shitty country. I would have to pay around 4 or even 5 grand in order to get such a machine in Argentina.Yes, I am not kidding.
On the contrary, a new Stellar transport, if existed, I guess could probably cost around 1K, or a bit more, but surely not more than the SGC DAC or the M700s.
I didnât realize youâre located in Argentina. You could always look into a package forwarding company. There are many of them here in the US. You use the company as the US based shipping address when purchasing from Audiogon (or elsewhere) and the company will forward you the package for a nominal fee.
https://forum.psaudio.com/t/perfectwave-memory-player-transport/3778
OopsâŚdepending which voltage is used in ArgentinaâŚ
Argentina is 220V., USA is 110V.
Bummer, thatâs making it more complicated indeed
I concur there -not sure why the local distributor (S&K) is getting the margins theyâre getting, as they put PSA products further away from our feasible equipments purchases / dreams.
Other than that I still agree with Juan re the aesthetic motivation behind a Stellar player -it would very well complement the line and that, though not more important than actual SQ, still bares some importance.
Neither the Olive server nor the Oppo look very well together with my DSjr, hence saving up to get a Memory Player however our local guy wants nearly US$ 10k for it!
Start saving your Pesoâs for the OctaveâŚI think that product will be your best option.