I’ve got a PWT I used with my DSD. In fact the entire setup is PS Audio (BHK Amp & Preamp) and I am very happy with it. I am thinking about taking the plunge and upgrading the PWT to the DSMP. I play mostly music (24/96) I have downloaded via HD Tracks and burn to DVD media (.wav files). I know, I know I should probably just stream via server but I am old school this way and happy with it for now.
For those that have made the switch to the DSMP, what kind of improvement can I expect over the PWT? Will it be significant even on DVDs I burn? I know it’s difficult to quantify these things but are we talking HUGE improvements or just a bit better? If it matters, my speakers are Wilson Duettes which work very well in my crappy room because they minimize early reflections.
Just from personal experience, I find the DMP to be a significant step up in performance when compared to the PWT or any of my other source devices !
Similar scenario as yourself running P S Audio - ( DMP / PWT / DS/Huron / BHK Preamp / 250 / 300s ) and OPPO 103 Vanity. I can’t comment on burned to DVD…! But what I do know is this, the DMP is the best source product I have ever used or heard, it wipes the floor with my streaming setup - which I don’t even bother about now since the arrival of the DMP - simply because, it just doesn’t tug at the heart strings…! With the DMP the musical presentation is just so effortlessly natural and completely engaging that I can listen for hours at a time… I find it hard to comprehend how it can haul so much music from a Redbook Cd ? and as for SACD’s - they are sublime… The DMP is a statement product !!
I’m in the same boat as the O.P. in this thread. I’ve been using the PWT for a couple of years and it is an excellent transport combined with my DS DAC. I’m tempted to upgrade to the DSMP but am having a hard time justifying the cost (even with the trade-in value) of upgrading a player that is only a few years old and sounds great in my system. Anyone else having experience with both players want to comment on the value of the upgrade and differences between the players?
My system is: PWT=>DS DAC=>Conrad Johnson Premier 17LS2 preamp=>Conrad Johnson Premier 140 amp=>Martin Logan Summits (in an acoustically-treated room). Oh, and yes, I have a fair collection of SACDs in addition to thousands of red book CDs, which is one of the reasons this upgrade is so tempting to me.
I’m in the same boat as the O.P. in this thread. I’ve been using the PWT for a couple of years and it is an excellent transport combined with my DS DAC. I’m tempted to upgrade to the DSMP but am having a hard time justifying the cost (even with the trade-in value) of upgrading a player that is only a few years old and sounds great in my system. Anyone else having experience with both players want to comment on the value of the upgrade and differences between the players?
My system is: PWT=>DS DAC=>Conrad Johnson Premier 17LS2 preamp=>Conrad Johnson Premier 140 amp=>Martin Logan Summits (in an acoustically-treated room). Oh, and yes, I have a fair collection of SACDs in addition to thousands of red book CDs, which is one of the reasons this upgrade is so tempting to me.
Dirks comment above pretty much discribes my experience, side by side comparison between the Perfect Wave Transport and Direct Stream Memory Player it took minutes to realize the significance between the two and now coupled to the Direct Stream Dac senior these two components were an over whelming leap forward in performance and overall listening pleasure .
I know my thoughts aren’t of match value because I am biased, but this one’s a no-brainer. Go for the DMP. You won’t yet be able to take advantage of your SACD in its best form because you don’t yet have one of our DACs, but at least do it just for the sheer pleasure of the CD differences which are anything but small. It’s as BlueNose and Dirk describe and takes no more than a few minutes to hear it.
Paul, to me it looks like everyone who posted is using your DAC, so they will all be able to get the benefits of the HDMI [I2S] connection, and hear their SACDs decoded by the Directstreams.
Man, I hate being poor. My opinion is if you have a Directstreams and the money get the DMP. I read most of the posts when in beta and reviews after, and sound quality is always said to be wonderful. Navigation needs a firmware upgrade, but knowing PSA there will be one.
I know my thoughts aren’t of match value because I am biased, but this one’s a no-brainer. Go for the DMP. You won’t yet be able to take advantage of your SACD in its best form because you don’t yet have one of our DACs, but at least do it just for the sheer pleasure of the CD differences which are anything but small. It’s as BlueNose and Dirk describe and takes no more than a few minutes to hear it.
Paul, your thoughts absolutely have value to me, regardless of personal bias. I respect and value your opinion. I do have the DirectStream DAC Sr., so would definitely see the benefits for my SACDs as well as for red book CDs. I guess my hesitation has been partly that I haven’t had the PWT that long and it sounds so good in my system that I have a hard time imagining it can get much better for the cost of the upgrade (of course, I say the same thing with every DSD firmware upgrade and then the next one comes along and it sounds even better).
Also, I have bought, but not yet installed, a bridge 2 and have been ripping my CDs to flac, trying to get away from manually spinning discs. So it’s hard to throw more money at another player. But the DMP is incredibly tempting…
Thanks. Indeed, there aren’t that many products I feel strongly about updating but the DMP is among them. It’ll be around when you settle in after all your new products. Have fun!
I was very happy with the PWT and the Bridge(s) and used them both for 4+ years. Most of my listening was through the bridge module once I worked out the kinks in my home network. The convenience of using playing music “jukebox style” and the comparable SQ of the PWT and network based storage made sense for a long time. My musical collection is equal numbers of CDs and vinyl ripped to .wav files on DVD-R discs. The trampoline-like floors in my 90+ year old house are not conducive to routine use of a turntable.
Since I purchased the DMP this device is used exclusively for devoted music listening entirely due the better sound quality. This holds true for both CD and .wav files. The latter sound remarkably similar to playback over my turntable (for better or worse) and a significant improvement over playback on the PWT.
I have not once questioned the wisdom of purchasing the DMP. If the purchase fits into your budget by all means go ahead with it.
I’ve set my sight on a black DMP (to match my DSjr he-he). The turntable is arriving soon, so a DMP sending my Olive 04 “to retirement” would be the absolute icing on the cake and finalization to my system. But it’s gonna take me a while…
