Frode said If I am not much mistaken the specific reference to the chipset has to do with a new method of SACD ripping....(?)Well, if one were already planning on picking up a new PWT II, why bother with getting a 103 or 105, too?
I was going to say something about the 103, but thought, nah. But now that it’s been said … I would personally rather go with the 103. My reasons; for one it will be over $5k cheaper and it will get the SACD rip I have been longing for and two, it can still do video, something the PWT II can’t do. I will say the PWT II will probably sound better on regular CD’s, but $5k better? Not sure it’s worth it to me.
For those who don’t understand what we are talking about, see the thread “SACD Ripping using an Oppo or Pioneer? Yes, it’s true!” On Computer Audiophile. I just found it a couple of days ago, not sure why it wasn’t mentioned her.
pmotz said I was going to say something about the 103, but thought, nah. But now that it's been said ... I would personally rather go with the 103. My reasons; for one it will be over $5k cheaper and it will get the SACD rip I have been longing for and two, it can still do video, something the PWT II can't do.It is a bit of a dilemma. Add to that Oppo's 4K player that's in the works and the optimal path becomes cloudier. Nor is there any guarantee that the methods that work for ripping SACDs on the 103/105 will work on the PWT II. Then again, if you have the PWT II, why bother unless it's to create a backup or a copy that's playable on your PMP? The last time I counted almost a decade ago, I had over 2.5K CDs. I seem to remember picking up a few more since then. I'm not really interested in ripping those. Nor am I really interested in ripping over 500 SACDs (a much more recent count), which makes the PWT II somewhat more desirable.
Huh. Now I’m even more confused.
Well, I guess Peanut Butter indirectly talked about this topic yesterday. At least this was my impression leading to my comment above.pmotz said For those who don't understand what we are talking about, see the thread "SACD Ripping using an Oppo or Pioneer? Yes, it's true!" On Computer Audiophile. I just found it a couple of days ago, not sure why it wasn't mentioned her.
Peanut Butter, I have about the same number of CD’s and SACD’s as you so I understand the ripping dilemma. I have a few of the CD in iTunes for use on an iPod, so I have been through the boring process, but they are Apple lossless so not the best rip and really don’t want to redo them. As for SACD, I only run digital now (even my turntable is through an NPC) so I can’t play the SACD layer unless I run it through the NPC which isn’t a great idea methinks. Since the PS3 route to SACD ripping is a finicky process I shied away from it, but now there is a potentially better approach. The lingering question is that now it has been “found” will there be a firmware fix to remove it? Getting a Oppo 103 now should be Ok, but the PWT II could have that capability removed in a firmware update. Paul hasn’t said anything recently about Beta release, it was mentioned as being in June a while back, but it’s now August and it’s been awful quiet. While I would love to get a PWT II my finances make it a luxury that I probably shouldn’t afford. Heck, I passed on the great P10 deal recently just for that reason, sigh …
pmotz said While I would love to get a PWT II my finances make it a luxury that I probably shouldn't afford. Heck, I passed on the great P10 deal recently just for that reason, sigh ...I hear you and also reluctantly passed on the P10 deal for the same reason. I just bought a 360' well that doesn't have a pump or power yet. That put a big hole, so to speak, in the equipment budget.
Peanut Butter saidpmotz said While I would love to get a PWT II my finances make it a luxury that I probably shouldn't afford. Heck, I passed on the great P10 deal recently just for that reason, sigh ...I hear you and also reluctantly passed on the P10 deal for the same reason. I just bought a 360’ well that doesn’t have a pump or power yet. That put a big hole, so to speak, in the equipment budget.
Guys, I feel your pain. I struggled but pulled the trigger on the P10 on the last day. Not sure what the wife says when she sees it. I am hoping the improvement won’t be so great so I have a reason not to keep it:)
The cash jar is going for the PWT II first then work toward the P10… Always a choice to make. 
How do you inform owners on an upgrade when available? I’m in for the PWT II upgrade when available. I too would like to find out what those 30 or so sacd’s sitting on the shelf are supposed to sounds like!
thanks,
Jim
One way is to subscribe to Paul’s Posts and/or the PSA Newsletter. Look under Community above.
And check the Forum periodically; Paul often makes announcements here as well and there certainly will be discussion in any event.
a25105 saidPeanut Butter saidpmotz said While I would love to get a PWT II my finances make it a luxury that I probably shouldn't afford. Heck, I passed on the great P10 deal recently just for that reason, sigh ...I hear you and also reluctantly passed on the P10 deal for the same reason. I just bought a 360’ well that doesn’t have a pump or power yet. That put a big hole, so to speak, in the equipment budget.
Guys, I feel your pain. I struggled but pulled the trigger on the P10 on the last day. Not sure what the wife says when she sees it. I am hoping the improvement won’t be so great so I have a reason not to keep it:)
If you give it several weeks in your system you will probably not ever take it out!
I have to ask: wouldn’t it be sensible to include the DAC and transport in a single chassis? Among other things, this would eliminate the need for special (often expensive) cables and that can of worms. Presumably it would provide a more direct signal path, and would conceivably also be considerably more economical. I know this may be heresy here, but several other companies do this. The forthcoming Marantz SA10 sounds like it uses a similar strategy. (It won’t be inexpensive either, but I would imagine most people would like to minimize the number of boxes they have to deal with.)
Great idea - that would be a CD player. 
It may be possible some day to figure out another way to cram all that in to one box - but right now the separate chassis for each is the only way to get all that is needed to work.
This seems to be a case of two functions that are very different from each other and need to be mechanically and electrically isolated from each other for each to perform their best. This is particularly true of the DAC component of the pair. The mechanical vibration and electrical noise of the transport can substantially degrade the quality of the DAC. The other way… not so much, but as with all things audiophile, the better each component is isolated, the better it works.
While the transport and DAC can occupy the same chassis, and ther are certain advantages to do so, providing adequate isolation of the DAC from the transport is a significant challenge. Doing this adequately in a PS Audio quality product might require the use of the P10 chassis. A CD/DVD Audio/Blu-ray Audio/SACD player of this size might be a hard sell, even in the audiophile community - even where a two chassis (Transport and DAC) solution will occupy similar space.
Nice idea, and possibly a future product, but not today.
J.P.
Thanks for these serious answers.
The million dollar question is when is the PWT II going to be available for beta and or purchase…inquiring minds are dying to know
Right now the schedule is set for an October Beta release and so far it looks like we continue to be on track.
There’s a whole new GUI the programmers have been working on for the touch screen. It’s really cool, easy to read from across the room and makes much more sense than what we’ve had. I am excited every time I walk past programming and see a big cover art loading onto the screen of the DST.
Sound quality has been something they’ve worked on too, though most of that’s now in the bag.
It is truly an exciting product, so those interested in beta testing be watchful of this forum and Paul’s Posts. I’ll announce it then and we can decide who’s interested in helping us vet this great product.
We’ll likely restrict the beta testing to DS, and DSJ owners for now - though we may relent in a few cases.
As many recall, only DS, and DSJ will be able to process the raw SACD data and allow you to hear what’s really been hiding on your discs all these years.
CD playback is extraordinary, unlike anything I’ve yet heard - so this is where we might allow a few non-DS, DSJ owners, the opportunity to also beta test strictly on the idea of SQ for CD.
Stay tuned.
Paul McGowan saidlonson said It would be wonderful if there's an upgrade trade-in program as with the DS.Your wish is my command.
Paul McGowan said1234 said I have a few questions.Will the new PWT also be a network streamer , meaning no Ned for a computer at all and it will fond any nas drives on the network ?
Will,it stream to the new bridge over a network ?
will,it have Ipad connectivity ?
How much is msrp ? Will there be a beta test group ? If so that I would like to be in if allowed .
Any pics available
regardimg netwprk server even if it only serves the DS it’s still a complete standalone setup now. I know maybe at this price point it may not be possible but I am sking and happy to read of this new product.
I also am fine and understand it not being an upgrade from old one . All,of my several hundred SACD are ripped and the disks are put away too. And of course many hundred cd,s too. It is nice to put a disk in like playing vinyl lol. But I do want complet control from my phone or iPad. I hope,this is in the works. The new bridge is a pleasure and works flawless. Jriver finds all of my nas drives very cool.
I am happy for you and your company to stay up on new products we need , nice to see a complete line of products to stack up. I’ll post some pics tonight of things so far all ps audio , it’s a boatload of stuff , pretty cool to look at.
The new Transport will have no internet streaming capabilities.
It will have 3 I2S outputs where you can connect DirectStream DAC(s) to get multi-channel audio in pure DSD.
There will not be iPad connectivity because it’s a transport. Control will be through its remote. It will have the touch screen, cover art and song info on the screen as does the PWT1
MSRP should be $4,999.
The picture will look just like the PWT 1, except for a USB input slot on the front. This will allow you to connect a USB drive and play music like a streamer does. It can handle most any size USB drive, but we recommend keeping the drive small since scrolling through the library on the drive will be restricted to the front panel touch screen and that’s got limited space to display tracks and it’s not lightning fast. I picture the front panel USB input as a courtesy input - someone has a bunch of tracks on a thumbdrive, bring 'em on!
Paul
$5K is a lot of money for regular folks like me who have been a long time loyal PSA user. However for me to be able to justify trading in my PWT 1 and get this, ideally I’d want to be able to not only play every popular format (SACD, DVDA, wav, flac, DSD double etc.) but also be able to rip the allowed ones (except sacd I assume) to an externally connected (USB?) flash or SSD hard drive. Compared to people caring about ipad remote or ripping or internet streaming do you guys really think people care more about multi channel sacd for using three different DS Dac ?
Paul McGowan said There will be an early beta test program some of you may wish to participate in. Maybe as early as August.Have you started the Beta program?