Hi all,
Did anyone else pick up the following sentence from Paul’s Post from December 31?
“Our return to high end audio amplification with the launch of the BHK amplifiers–and soon a preamplifier as well as a new transport that plays SACDs into our DAC–were real highlights.”
A new transport that plays SACD?
Anyone heard anything about this?
Chip
Earlier, more detailed information is in this thread:
http://www.psaudio.com/forum/latest-ps-audio-news/regular-hdmi-audio-into-pwd-using-i2s/
Indeed, thanks and yes, there will be a PWT II out this year - I have been listening to it play SACD directly into the DirectStream DAC and it is to die for. I will say this with confidence - if you own SACD you have NEVER heard what’s really on them - certainly I have not. I hadn’t any clue what these beauties are capable of. Holy sh*t. SACD played into DirectStream is, well… I don’t want to get too excited but…
Could you shed some light on which formats the drive can take?
As an example, What happens if you burn an ISO image from a ripped SACD onto an BD-R and put the disc into the PWT mkII?
I would assume it can play:
?
If it is an Oppo, my guess is that it would not support sacd-r. A firmware update a year or so ago took that ability away from their bluray players, although they still support dff/dsf files. Would be great if I was wrong though.
Radioclash, Paul has stated the new PWT will be Oppo based so your assertion is probably correct. Now that brings me to a question, where does one get a SACD-R? To the best of my knowledge there are no consumer grade computer devices to read/rip/record SACD, so would this be done on a professional workstation?
is it going to upgradable from the original pwt?
Should one assume (hope) that I2S will be provided so it can go into the DS that way?
pmotz said Radioclash, Paul has stated the new PWT will be Oppo based so your assertion is probably correct. Now that brings me to a question, where does one get a SACD-R? To the best of my knowledge there are no consumer grade computer devices to read/rip/record SACD, so would this be done on a professional workstation?The only way I know to rip an SACD these days is with an older PS3 with legacy firmware 3.55. Lots of Google info out there if you are interested.
tony22 said Should one assume (hope) that I2S will be provided so it can go into the DS that way?Yes, Paul's posts state that the new transport will output I2S directly to the DS DAC.
As for makfi’s question, I haven’t seen the possibility of an upgrade from an original PWT addressed yet. I kind of doubt its feasibility since the new model is based on an Oppo design which likely has little if anything in common other than the chassis.
Any chance that PWT II will decode HDCD?
Radioclash, I’m familiar with the PS3. I probably should have mentioned it as a way to rip SACD (albeit of dubious legality), but it will not create an SACD-R, only a digital file. Not a big deal, just wanted to know if there was something I was missing on creating an SACD-R.
tony22, as audio.bill said it will have I2S, in fact it is required to be on I2S. Not sure of the correct terminology, but I’ll say “encryption” of the signal is required to move the DSD data between the transport and the DAC. As Paul put it, the PWT II and DS will be the only ones that will “talk” to each other (with the possible exception of the NuWave DSD DAC). He also said a new OS (I.e., firmware) update will be required to do the talking.
pmotz said Radioclash, I'm familiar with the PS3. I probably should have mentioned it as a way to rip SACD (albeit of dubious legality), but it will not create an SACD-R, only a digital file. Not a big deal, just wanted to know if there was something I was missing on creating an SACD-R.The ISO file you get from ripping a SACD you simply can burn onto a DVD-R. That's called a SACD-R.
Yes, the ISO can be easily burned to a DVD-r using a program like IMG burn.
makfi said is it going to upgradable from the original pwt?No. It's an entirely new set of guts, back panel, bottom panel and front panel - I think perhaps the top cover is the same. We will be doing our best to offer substantial help with trade ins - as we always try to do.
The output for SACD raw DSD will be through I2S - and not just one I2S. We will have 3 I2S outputs so multi-channel SACD can play raw DSD into multiple DirectStream DACs for those interested in multi-channel.
The one hitch will be it only works into DirectStream. There’s going to be a proprietary handshake between the two machines ensuring people cannot copy what’s on the SACD. We gotta keep Sony happy.
Holzohr/radioclash, hmmm, Ok, I get it. Not sure I would call it an SACD-R, technically cannot be read as an SACD by an SACD player, but I get the intent.
pmotz said Holzohr/radioclash, hmmm, Ok, I get it. Not sure I would call it an SACD-R, technically cannot be read as an SACD by an SACD player, but I get the intent.My older Oppo BDP-93 has the older firmware and recognizes them as SACDs and plays them fine. It's my BDP-105 that does not since it has the newer firmware. At any rate, we are unlikely to see this new Oppo transport supporting them. Hopefully it can still stream DSD files like the 105 does.
Paul McGowan saidNo. It’s an entirely new set of guts, back panel, bottom panel and front panel - I think perhaps the top cover is the same. We will be doing our best to offer substantial help with trade ins - as we always try to do. The output for SACD raw DSD will be through I2S - and not just one I2S. We will have 3 I2S outputs so multi-channel SACD can play raw DSD into multiple DirectStream DACs for those interested in multi-channel. The one hitch will be it only works into DirectStream. There’s going to be a proprietary handshake between the two machines ensuring people cannot copy what’s on the SACD. We gotta keep Sony happy.
This is, bar none, the best audio gear news of the new year. I was about to purchase a cheap transport to be my exclusive Redbook CD playback machine when I read your announcement in PSTracks. Now, my SACDs will get the same magical treatment my CDs and music files get through my DS DAC.
I was going to write you late last month but I’ll go ahead and say it here: I had the opportunity to listen to a lot of music over my holiday from a wide variety of sources. New CDs I purchased – The Glenn Gould Collection is amazing, as is the remastered Stravinsky set on Sony – plus music files, and even lowly 128kb streams, sound better than they deserve. Through my AppleTV and AirPlay, I streamed WCRB from Boston, WQXR from NY, Pandora, and sundry other classical (and Christmas) internet streams. The DS DAC seems to improve everything that is thrown at it.
I know I’ve said it before but here I go: It’s the best piece of gear I’ve ever purchased. It never disappoints. How far I’ve come from the AudioAlchemy DAC-In-The-Box…
-g
Paul,will the only change,sound wise,be sacd playback? Any tweaking on the redbook side,if that is possible? Any price yet? Thanks…
George Moneo said How far I've come from the AudioAlchemy DAC-In-The-Box..Wow, I used to own one of those back in the day, haven't thought of it in years. The DS and other kit we have today is certainly a big improvement.