Factory Refreshed PST first impression

Audio Components Transports
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Just received my transport today and was I ever excited to unbox and throw into my system. Unfortunately it had a little more prior wear than I was hoping but with a little automotive light scratch compound I was able to get most out. Bummer it was right on the front going through the drawer from top to bottom of the faceplate; not just the drawer. Luckily the smudge did not go through the powder coat to the metal. Talked to James about returning but I’m going to have a hard time parting with the more I listen.

First impression comparing to my Cambridge 851C is the bass. Geez Louise does this thing have bottom end? Never felt my Cambridge was lacking as in my room with Pass X250 and Wilson WP6’s I have plenty of bottom end, but with PST I’m probably going to mess with speaker placement to bring it down a bit. So far I am really enjoying what I’m hearing. Definitely more meat on the bones.

Right now I’m not getting the openness or width of stage the Cambridge has but I’ll contribute that to I’m not familiar with a new AQ Carbon 48 I’m using and give it some time to burn in. On my Cambridge I was using a Nordost SilverShadow into my DSD MKI. I know the Carbon is far from the top but I thought I would start here before diving in too deep. The PST is sounding great and I strongly prefer it over the Cambridge but it’s a little closed in. Curious if that is what others who have owned the Carbon felt and reason the moved up the AQ line? In case anyone ask, power cables on all digital components are WyWires Platinum Digital PC’s feed into a PSA P10 with a Valhalla 2 feeding it.

I changed out the fuses in the Cambridge which was a noticeable improvement so I’ll probably do the same with the PST. At the time SR Blacks was the current fuse, so that goes back a ways. Also curious on other’s experience with the more current SR offerings.

My father is using my PSA I2S cable so I’ll grab that back to compare to the Carbon. I also have a Supra HDMI I’ll rotate in.

The only SACD I have spun today is Diana Krall Love Scenes. Hands down that destroyed my Cambridge. Yes I’m excited to say the least as I’ve been waiting for months to grab one of these at a great price! Thanks PS Audio

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Fun!

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Photos of it in your rig would be nice!

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I’m assuming you are talking I2S. I’ve used AQ Carbon, Vodka, and Dragon. The performance gap between the Dragon over the previous mentioned cables is substantial! The Firebird may get you closer to Dragon for a lower financial investment. There is a 1.5m for sale $695 that is a great price! I believe @FRO may be the individual selling it.

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Be careful what you’re wishing for. After I got my PST, my SACDs collection has grown from 100+ to almost 500!

It seems that any upgrade from now on will need to consider compatibility with SACDs🤔

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It may be as your system gets better, there might be less thought about formats and what
recordings bring you joy.

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I use AQ carbon USB from my streamer into my MKll DAC and it is OK. On a lark I substituted a Benchmark Media SPDIF cable instead and the sound was much better, to my surprise. Unfortunately, the MKll has only one SPDIF input so back to the transport it went.