Perfectwave DAC

Audio Components DACs
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There are some Perfectwave DAC Mk. 2’s that are now going for right around 1k. There are also a lot of Chord Qutest’s at this price. The Perfectwave intrigues me as it was a high end component in the early to mid 2010’s. Is DAC evolution so great, that even a mid-priced piece like the Qutest would blow the Perfectwave out of the water? My guess would be No, due to PSAudio’s analogue output stage and the care that probably went into it. Does anybody have experience with both DAC’s?

CD’s are my main listening medium so I’m not even worried about super hi-res. I listen to a lot of symphonic music and enjoy a deep layered soundstage with timbral realism and excellent transients. My system is a Marantz CD6006 CD player going to McIntosh c27 Pre, going to Odyssey Khartago or McIntosh MC2200 (depending on mood), going to Elac UB5 Speakers.

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I own and use both. Each has it’s strengths. Both are inexpensive. One is small and simple. Flip a coin?
As far as which sounds better, my opinion is they sound so similar only the feature sets can help you make a decision. Both are very easy to listen to for extended periods of time.

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I just grabbed a PSA Jr 2018 I believe with Sunlight for sub 1k. Packing like is was brand new and looks that way out of the box. Great unit for the money.

I have only had the TT2. Great dac as well but not a fair comparison.

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I might be doing just that…flipping a coin! First I have to sell my Border Patrol which was beyond disappointing.

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