stereophilus said: Even if the solution is an active preamp and DAC in 1 box?
This certainly can be done. This is what the Benchmark and Grace M903 are.
I have the Grace in my studio and love this little guy. It has a full gamut of digital inputs, balanced and SE analog, multiple outs, headphone outs, etc.
M903 is very good component, and to my taste a little better than benchmark.
Both fairly far from the league of PWD.
IMHO, PSA should keep the digital volume control, but try to expand the bitrate up to 32bit (or even 64), which means that DAC chip must support 32/64bit natively.
P.S And keep the Analog Path as short as possible …
That is a good point @valer_valer - anything being used in place of the PWD must be its equal or better. Otherwise the point of the exercise is defeated before it starts.
M903 is very good component, and to my taste a little better than benchmark.
Both fairly far from the league of PWD.
IMHO, PSA should keep the digital volume control, but try to expand the bitrate up to 32bit (or even 64), which means that DAC chip must support 32/64bit natively.
P.S And keep the Analog Path as short as possible ...
@edorr
Would you be so kind as to elaborate the change with the preamp added ? I did this just yesterday , but was using the MSB as the the preamp . I did here a remark increase in sound , but not to the level you Re describing . As I have a fair ear for changes , but what I lack is the foundation as to the why. So any detail you may add , or someone here would be helpfull. Thanks
Al. D
Al, “blowing out of the water” is not very specific. A “marked improvement” would describe the change as well. Note that I had tried several lesser preamps before the ref5se, that did not deliver the goods (pass labs xp-10, emmlabs switchman, mod wright 36.5 ls/ps), so without the right caliber pre, you’re better off leaving it out.
@frode ESS makes some very good products and one’s we’ve considered and are considering using in future versions of our products. I am certain a Sabre is not in the cards for the next generation of PWD ;
but there are other products we’re working on that they might be.
Paul, care to elaborate on the Sabre rattling? 
I am just curious. Also curious as to various characteristics of different DAC chips, although I could find much for myself with a bit of research.
J.P.
valer_valer said: M903 is very good component, and to my taste a little better than benchmark.
Both fairly far from the league of PWD.
The two dacs mentioned Above I have not heard . But your statement is a little unclear to me . Are you saying the PWD mkii. Is better than the other two dacs?
Al. D
I am not expressing an opinion. I have not compared the Benchmark and the Grace to the PWD in the same system.
As a practical matter, the PWD and the others are very different pieces of equipment. The other two are pro units combining a DAC, pre-amp/monitor control, headphone amp, analog inputs, fixed and variable outputs, etc. Both are excellent pieces of kit and serve a different role than the PWD.
Ok , I understand better now . Thanks . I did try to hear a difference using the Pwd volume and an external preamp and I could not here a difference between the two. I did hear a difference using a tube preamp immediately though. But it is not better it just shifted the tonal balance a little deeper . As woman sounded a little deeper and men in my opinion was just too deep. I think overall the tonal balance of the Pwd is superb.
Elk said: One would hope the PWD to be the better DAC, at over twice the price of both and a much smaller feature set than either the Benchmark or Grace.
In my experience, the Grace is the better DAC; the Benchmark, the better headphone amp (I have one of each).
The only pro dac I own is the mytek. And I do like the PWD. Better and to me it is closer to the music than the mytek . The mytek compared to the Pwd , where the Pwd plays more upfront and edgy as opposed to the mytek that just smears this a bit. And this is with FireWire or usb2.0. And not the internal preamp or headphone amp used. Now I cannot comment on the other dacs as I have only read about them and never heard them.
Al. D
valer_valer said: The PWD belongs to the Audiophile equipment, which should prevent (or at least soften) sonic artifacts, even if it's part of the original recording.
Elk said: The average studio engineer is listening to better sound than the average audiophile
I do not look down on pro gear, the mytek was my first dac/ combo. And I was reading about the other two in this thread as well. I guess I made the wrong decision in the end. And I do not have studio experience although I have wired a few of them and did sit in on some recordings as well. And the truth I did not like how it sounded to me . Too dynamic lol sorry . But not having heard all pro gear and given people do readily blame the music on the recording engineer . It’s hard to like them or in my case not be ignorant to all that they do to make our recordings. I have one more thought to share. I have had a few chances to really hear some hi end gear in speaker format. And if digital is playing the dac is paramount to every thing else. And some cd,s I have that I think are sub par , when played on a really well synergistic system has a lot more musical info then before. Songs that had a little shrill in the vocals , turns into a wow moment instead. So if this is true then the audio engineer gets hell for us playing the music on a sub par system.
Al. D
@wingsounds13 I wish I could rattle on more but I can’t. There is something in the works you’ll all love. But I’ve been bitten in the past about blabbering prematurely before I really know when anything’s going to happen. Let’s face it, I’ve spewed info about this or that only to then be told “it’s another year” of development. So, when we do know I’ll let you all have the info.
I agree Paul how hard it must be to keep ones mouth shut. But sometimes a tease
Is good for all to remain hopeful. Just a thought.
Al. D
valer_valer said
When the audiophile world learned of the Benchmark DAC1 over ten years ago, there was nothing in the audiophile market that could touch it for sound and feature set - a ridiculous bargain. Stereophile named it Editor's Choice. Many other mags similarly honored it.
For once, I disagree. I read the hype, ordered one on 30 day trial, thought it was mediocre, and send it right back (long time ago this).