The W4S DAC2 DSDse has arrived and we have been playing with it for a few days. I had very high expectations of this DAC and was excited about its DSD capabilities. http://www.wyred4sound.com/webapps/p/74030/117839/904731
I realize that the W4S DAC2 DSDse is still new and probably not broken it. Also, the PWD2 is fed by CAT7 (just something from Amazon.com) and the DSD2se is fed music via some stock USB cable. Other than those 2 factors, all else was kept the same.
By a surprising margin, the PWD2 was much more analog than the DSDse. Listener fatigue was a a real issue with the W4S DSDse.
We still have to tweak some of the JRiver settings for the DSDse and upgrade the USB cable with Cardas Beyond Clear and of course let it break in.
Oh, the DSDse is gap-less and of course is DSD capable. So, if Paul et al can get the PWD2 to operate in gap-less and the PWD3 to play DSD, he would have an amazing machine.
Wo, thanks for putting these comments on the W4S DAC comparison. This verified some earlier comments I had, with another follower on-line. I agree if PSA can solve gapless with the bridge and provide the capabilities with DSD (right now DSD is not a big ticket item for me but things change over time) they will hit it out of the park
Dsd is a very big ticket just not with the pwdmkii . Even If I use jriver 19 straight from an dsd ISO through my offramp to i2s to the Pwd mkii. It is amazing very good. If with the bridge it is improved over PCM hi Rez
Instead here I purchased a krell connect . It has a dac and a music server. The pwdmkii beats it hands down
With the offramp. With the bridge they are a much closer race. If Paul can succeed in building a pwd 3 with dsd and does not improve implinmintaion over what he has there is no point .
The dac as it is plays wondeful. But the I2S is fantastic only with the offramp . The transport, USB or any other input is fine including the bridge . But the true capability is revealed the a better input implementation
And in native ! Not native X.
How much did you pay for the w4s ? If I may ask.
@ALRAINBOW What is an off-ramp? Exit off Route 66?
birddogthecat said: By a surprising margin, the PWD2 was much more analog than the DSDse.
I am surprised the margin is as great as you report.
Please let us know what you think after the W4S has had a chance to settle in.
@elk A USB converter like the Lampizator Transport?
Lampizator Transport: http://lampizator.eu/szop/szopproducts/LZ-TRANSPORT/Lampizator%20transport.html
?
Did you click on the link I provided to Empirical Audio’s Off-Ramp?
@elk Yes, but it was not written in a language that I could understand. Don’t worry about it. I really do not care. Just mildly curious.
They do not do a good job telling you what it does.
It is merely a device which takes the USB output from your computer and converts it to standard digital, like S/PDIF.
It is useful if you want to use a DAC with your computer that does not already have a USB input.
Some also believe it works better than the USB input built into various DACs. They use the unit to convert from USB to S/PDIF, I2S or AES/EBU before sending it to their DAC.
Elk, your synopsis of their product and literature is what I determined after reading their copy about three times a year ago (I thought there was something wrong with me for not understanding it first time 'round).
it centers on the fact that most dacs have poor usb implementation. it also has 2 i2s output formats. rj45 and hdmi. i thought is was bull till i heard the change.
they have a 30 day return policy so you have nothing to loose.
thanks for helping elk
al
David said: Elk, your synopsis of their product and literature is what I determined after reading their copy about three times a year ago (I thought there was something wrong with me for not understanding it first time 'round).
I'm sure you are not alone.
The problem is it was written by someone who already understands the product. He now wants to share why it is cool, but forgets to tell us initially what it does.
The name is also dreadful. What does it mean anyway? I do not want my bits to be sent "off-ramp."
alrainbow said: it centers on the fact that most dacs have poor usb implementation.
This is rapidly disappearing as an issue as more and more manufacturers are incorporating excellent USB receivers. The Off-Ramp will have its place for a bit yet however.
yes and thanks for agreeing. it helps my audio gd M7 out very much as well.
al
@birddogthecat what source are you using for the PWD and dac2se currently?
@stereophilus JRiver via Ethernet to PWD. JRiver via USB to DSDse. Is this the answer to your question?
@birddogthecat So bridge input on PWD, compared to USB input on DAC2se. Using the same server? A windows PC?
Not to criticise, but the bridge input on the PWD is likely to sound better than a great many DACs USB inputs. It would be fairer to compare USB input to USB input. Nonetheless I suspect PWD will offer better SQ.
@alrainbow the Offramp 5 is a nice product. I suspect that it has a better internal reclocking circuit than the PWD which is why nativeX does not sound as good as native. Did you compare the i2s (native) to spdif (nativeX)? Some implementations of spdif (including the offramp) can sound astoundingly good.
@dcastle I’m with you!
@stereophilus "Not to criticise, but the bridge input on the PWD is likely to sound better than a great many DACs USB inputs. It would be fairer to compare USB input to USB input. Nonetheless I suspect PWD will offer better SQ."
You are correct but we did not do it that way and I am unsure of the reason. That is why I pointed it out. We are looking for something to take to Axpona in April. Three new phono stages arrived this week that must be evaluated when there is time, so I doubt we will do an A-B comparison between the 2 DACs for quite a bit.