frankn Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 (edited) The PWT is being phased out for V2. This will play native SACD , 2ch or multi-channel. Multi I2S outputs. The new transport is based on the Oppo platform. The Red Book improves significantly on PWT. Paul McGowan from PS Audio : 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…77_gifmusic-078_gif Fair enough Paul is PSA but this was January 2016 and continued feedback appears positive. I'll put my hand up for beta testing. PWT(1) is being discontinued, rebates will be available for existing owners to upgrade. Interesting times ahead. If you are already streaming you won't need this. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited May 28, 2016 by frankn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excpp Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Paul McGowen from PS Audio ... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk McGowan Bl**dy iPhones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren69 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 PWT(1) is being discontinued, rebates will be available for existing owners to upgrade. Interesting times ahead. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Rebates? Hmm, very interesting, so long as they come in silver of course. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 Rebates? Hmm, very interesting, so long as they come in silver of course. I'm sure they will since all the other units are also in silver. Mine will be silver. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benje Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I see it will do multi-channel FrankN, at a price. Transport PWT2 at US$5K, with three i2S outputs managing the 5.1 channels of SACD feeding the DSD DACS (also US$5k?). Not for me For a person that already has the PWT1 and the DSD DAC with a great stereo system, it sounds fantastic though Frank. Haha it does sound fantastic on your system anyway FrankN. Benje Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren69 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 For me, the only benefit would be the capability of SACD which I like very much, so would be weighing that all up. Otherwise, I love my old Redbooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 mark-d said Paul,will the only change,sound wise,be sacd playback? Any tweaking on the redbook side,if that is possible? Any price yet? Thanks… I've (FN) cut and pasted a few replies of Paul's below for information on the PWT2: Paul McGowan replied: Oh my, certainly not the only change. Hard to imagine but redbook CDs sound extraordinarily better than the PWT. I know, hard to imagine, but the difference isn’t subtle. Bob Stadtherr (our chief engineer) and his team have really knocked it out of the park with this one. The new Digital Lens the device is based upon takes any signal (even from just an Oppo transport) and wrings much magic from it. The new DirectStream Transport will likely be $4,999 – a bit higher than the original $3,999 of the PWT....... More than just SACD, as I mentioned a post ago, even Redbook is better than anything I’ve yet heard. And the sound is up there with the Bridge. I haven’t had time to do a shootout between the transport and the BridgII but I bet it’ll be interesting.......... Thanks GM. I am a little confused by the question. If you go 100% streaming then there’s no need for a PWT II. If you continue playing CDs, then by all means, make the switch. The PWTII is significantly better on CDs than the PWT. Plus, on the front panel, there’s a USB slot where you can insert a thumb drive to listen to files of any kind as well – so it’s really versatile. The PWTII is recommended for anyone that still listens to CDs. It is iso much better than the original PWT for just that purpose that I find SACD just the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. Also, the multiple I2S outputs, while nice, aren’t going to be used by that many people. They are there just because we could and to keep the few, like me, who are excited about the 20 or so multi-channel disc I have never been able to hear in surround sound. Lastly, we will not be keeping the PWT in the line. The final few units are being manufactured now and then that’s it. We will have a trade up program and when we take the PWT in trade, these units will likely get new top covers, cleaned up and sold at a lower price, but when they’re gone, they’re gone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren69 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 OK thanks mate, looks like it's made for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffinator Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Would make a great Christmas present - to myself. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren69 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Would make a great Christmas present - to myself. Great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Only a couple more (Paul McGowan) weeks to go, so perhaps before Xmas the full units are shipping.............probably not any beta units coming to Oz but I'm always hopeful. If I can get on the beta program I will. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammo1981 Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Hope we get a trade in on our PWT here in OZ. wonder if that will happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 General thread for discussion of this new device. I first became aware of it when Marc posted elsewhere, http://www.stereo.net.au/news/ps-audio-breathes-new-life-into-sacd As per the comments the above received on social media, is this a case of 'too little, too late'? The linked StereoNET article hints at new and different capabilities of this player. I read it, and viewed the 14min excruciating video, and I am none the wiser. If they are saying this is the first device to export DSD from an SACD to external (DSD DAC) devices, that's not right. My Oppos have been doing that for years, over HDMI, and my Yamaha receiver has been able to read it as incoming DSD and process it outboard. The PS Audio website admits as much, after initially misleading me with statements like "But the true asset of the Memory Player is its ability to unlock the protected DSD layer that exists on SACDs. The layer was previously accessible, but only able to be decoded by internal digital-analogue convertors." (from the StereoNET article and the McGowan video). Closer examination of the website says "The protected DSD layer of SACD has long been available only through D/A converters built in to players and a few receivers and surround processors. These internal D/A processors, while adequate, were never capable of playing back stored music at the quality and performance levels enjoyed by mastering engineers. Now, with the introduction of PS Audio’s revolutionary new memory player, DMP, owners of our DirectStream series of DACs can uncover all that they have been missing." So maybe they are simply saying that they are so much better at making hifi components that previous products don't even count because they do audio and video. Hence psaudio are the first..... Apart from that, does anyone have any insight into this new unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benje Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 @frankn one day - when his boat comes in (with the new transport). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 @Newman mine was started months ago before the final product name was confirmed. I'm happy to continue with this one but I bet a lot of the same questions will be asked. Can they be merged under this one? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 It's a proprietary link to the DAC. So what's different between this and a high end single box player, in practice? It's not like the transport allows you your choice of DAC (like ripping the discs from an Oppo 10x, as described here a few weeks ago, would). No surround with this player either, I presume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 @eggcup the daft ; yes surround sound is supported, 5.1 anyway (there are 3* I2S out) But, you need 3 DirectStream DACs to implement it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 @frankn and @Newman threads for this device are now merged under the name of the Newman thread. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 (edited) What manufacturers make machines that playback DSD natively? Below is from http://dsd-guide.com/dsd-new-addiction-andreas-koch Korg: www.korg.com - professional use I think. D/A converters that can directly play DSD data from a transport are offered by: Playback Designs: www.playbackdesigns.com. Every product supports DSD, double rate DSD and PCM up to 384kHz via USB. dCS: http://www.dcsltd.co.uk. Support for DSD and PCM up to 192kHz via USB. Mytek Digital: www.mytekdigital.com. for DSD and PCM up to 192kHz via USB and Firewire. MSB. http://www.msbtech.com/ Oppo. https://www.oppodigital.com.au/blogs/reviews-resources/13531361-oppo-players-and-the-fabled-dsd-format And now PS Audio using a modified Oppo transport. There might be others?? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited September 27, 2016 by frankn corrected computer to transport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbuck Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 Given the likely cost of this new transport (my guess around AU$9000) then I can't really see the value. Assuming you use it with the DSD then it makes it a very expensive combo. There are much cheaper ways of getting music into the DSD which probably sound just as good. As an example I find the SACD rips I play through the DSD Bridge (ethernet) compare very well with my SACD/CD player (Accuphase so no slouch) when playing the SACD disc.So no way I would spend that kind of money just for a transport. Maybe I am missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted September 27, 2016 Author Share Posted September 27, 2016 INO We have to wait until we can hear a comparison between the DSD/Bridge, DSD via JRiver/computer/USB or DSD/DMP in to the DirectStream DAC. I want to hear what the PS Ausio hype is about. In addition they are saying that Redbook playback has improved beyond expectation. Maybe true, maybe not. The DCS, MSB combinations are not cheap but are considered by many to be the best. If PS Audio has got to the level of their performance at a lot less $$ then it might be worth it. Everyone has a different take on value-for-money. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 Once Frank gets the PS Audio DSMP and it can be A/B against Playback Designs, Esoteric KO-1 or DCs and hold its own I would be interested.. Stump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted September 27, 2016 Author Share Posted September 27, 2016 Perhaps I should suggest to my delightful Sally that she takes a breif holiday around the delivery date....Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 Sally on holiday yay (not really), but I have a DMP in-house. The performance is ahead of the PWT on Redbook and of course it plays SACD directly. CD - Better bass, smoother highs without loss of detail, better definition/separation. SACD sounds lovely - haven't yet compared DMP SACD tO DSD-file via JRiver - USB in to DirectStream. Still some work to do on the DMP UI and graphics/info retrieval from discs. IN picture - DMP on top of PWT. Thank you to Mike@magentaSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rand129678 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 7 minutes ago, frankn said: Sally on holiday yay (not really), but I have a DMP in-house. The performance is ahead of the PWT on Redbook and of course it plays SACD directly. CD - Better bass, smoother highs without loss of detail, better definition/separation. SACD sounds lovely - haven't yet compared DMP SACD tO DSD-file via JRiver - USB in to DirectStream. Still some work to do on the DMP UI and graphics/info retrieval from discs. IN picture - DMP on top of PWT. Thank you to Mike@magenta Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Lucky you mate :-) Very nice. Looking forward to your comparison to "DMP SACD tO DSD-file via JRiver - USB in to DirectStream" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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