How to get on the PS Audio ladder

Audio Components
41

I can see the ladder but my finances won’t let me step on it :grinning:

42

IMHO, if I want to own ONE piece of PSA gear, I will pick DSDAC.
If I want to own other pieces of PSA gears, I might want to get the pairing, I.e PSA pre amp + PSA power amps. Sometimes I wonder if I use pre from other brand to drive my M700, will it sound as good as SGCD? :slight_smile: (I know many have said bhk pre drive M700 is very nice!)

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43

I had a SGCD and when I picked up a pre owned Directstream DAC I compared it to the SGCD and there was no comparison. The DSD connected to the M700’s outperformed the SGCD. I sold the SGCD and eventually upgraded to a BHK preamp.

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44

@hiace_drifter I’ve owned the S300. If you can swing it, absolutely go for the M700’s instead. Not sure how it works in the UK, but here PS Audio has a very generous trade in program that can bring the M700’s down by almost 1/3. In the long run, you’ll be happier with that than the S300.

45

My PS Audio ladder over the course of about 4 years so far has been:

  1. Nuwave Phono Converter - One Day I will replace this but I don’t play records as often as I stream. so DSDMkII is on the horizon before this is replaced.
  2. DSDJr
  3. DSDSr - This was a worthwhile upgrade from the Jr.
  4. P20 - This was one of the best purchases as it made all of my equipment perform better, not just the PSA equipment. Highly recommended.
46

Well I have now (unexpectedly) sorted my pre-amp … I managed to get a Townshend Allegri plus for a very good price. Now on to the source … I’d like to compare a PS Audio CD transport playing CDs via coax into the dac of my Rega Saturn R. That would give me a direct comparison of the front end. If there are benefits I would later look at getting a PS audio dac too. My only concern about the PS Memory player is the touch screen … do they ever fail? Can they be replaced via local dealers in the UK?

47

FYI. DMP uses oppo drive, one reason DMP was discontinued due to oppo drive no longer made.
PST uses Japanese Marantz drive, same as Marantz SA10 SACD player.

48

I would think using the Saturn as a transport into a PS Audio DAC might give you more of a flavor of what the PSA sound is. Part of the reason to go with a PSA transport is it has the I2S interface.

But if you do want a transport the PWT is great and uses an inexpensive computer drive.

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49

Decisions decisions … it would be nice to get a PS transport and a dac, try them along side my rega in varying combinations. Unfortunately I need to do things step by step … I might go for a PWT, into my current (cheap but respcted) dac, and go from there.

50

The lifespan of the touch screen on the PerfectWave units is surprisingly long. I hardly ever hear of failures. Not something I’d worry about.

51

Thanks, thats good to know. I’ve seen a PWT for sale which comes with 2 x DVD ROMs - what are they for!?! I’m confused! :rofl:

52

My guess is the previous owner wanted to have some as backup in case they fail.

53

sorry my question was what are the dvd roms for… how ae they part of a PWT? ? Are they spare CD transports? Are they internal memory that works alongside the CD transport? I know nothing about PWT nor how a dvd rom is used in them!

54

If they are DVD drives, they’re just simply replacement drive mechanisms. Being that they are mechanical, they’re the most likely part to fail within the unit.

55

Aah so they’re spare “cd/dvd drives” … I was getting confused and thinking they were “memory”. Thanks!

56

FYI.
This article on DMP, but has good info on PWT too. It compare the design on PWT vs DMP