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In Reply to: RE: The PS Audio NuWave DSD Dac posted by cmait on December 19, 2016 at 05:12:19
IMHO, PS Audio is often overlooked because they're an established brand that has some reasonably priced products and they have been around for decades. They're not the exciting new kid on the block. ;-)I replaced my Luxman DA-06 (~$5000) and the Ayre QB-9 DSD (~$3500) with the PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC (~$1299 MSRP, less with trade). I couldn't be happier with the sound!
I prefer (and have purchased for a second time) the PS Audio GCPH phono preamp (~$1000) which replaced the Aesthetix Rhea, EAR 834P, Musical Surroundings Phonomena II, and a few others. I played with several phono preamps over the years. When I decided to downsize the vinyl setup, I went back the PS Audio GCPH as my bang for the buck choice. It's what I consider to be an excellent sounding 'high-value' phono preamp that is very versatile for MM/MC cartridges.
Enjoy your NuWave DSD!
Edits: 12/19/16Follow Ups:
I am very pleased with my PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC as well. I auditioned a few DACs in the under $2000 range and the Nuwave DSD beat out the Schiit Gungnir Multibit (too analytical in my system).
Music sounds organic, dynamic and wide open.It uses the ESS Sabre chip, but I think what makes this unit such a great performer is that PS Audio is using a type of FPGA device similar to their DirectStream DAC. I also believe that the design of the analogue stage is responsible for how well a DAC integrates in a system.
Edits: 12/26/16
Hmmmm....I think my Phonomena II+ is a excellent Phono Amp! A buddy of mine has the NuWave Phono Preamplifier...sounds great as well!
Do you run it with a MC or MM cartridge? I thought mine was fine with MM but not quite there for MC.
That was the Phonomena II, not the II+
I ran it with a 2M Black for a good while. Nice! A buddy of mine suggested I try a Denon DL-301 Mk2, so I did. Love it!
My mistake, it was the battery powered Nova that I owned.
Edits: 12/21/16
I'm really looking forward to the introduction of the new Oppo Sonica DAC supposedly coming in January. It is supposed to cost just $799 and yet be able to convert all formats of digital up through DSD_11.2M. Additionally, it is supposed to be able to play digital music directly from an external USB drive. That's really what excites me because I would like to eliminate the separate component used for streaming. Of course, I'm also hoping it sounds good because that will be the deal breaker.
Currently, I'm very please with the sound quality of my TASCAM DA-3000, which is both a player and a recorder. My major complaint is that it accepts a maximum USB drive capacity of only 64-GB. However, its sound quality with DSD is as good as anything I've heard so far although I've not heard any of the PS Audio DACs.
Best regards,
John Elison
I'm curious about the Oppo Sonica DAC, too. I thought I saw an ad for it in one of the magazines and read somewhere that it's supposed to be out sometime in the 1st quarter of CY2017.
I had the Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amp/DAC/preamp which also had outputs to drive an external amp. I thought it sounded a little cool as in lacking a full bodied more robust sound especially in the lower mids. Maybe the Sonica will be different.
Yes, I'm hoping the Sonica DAC will be different from your HA-1. I haven't heard the HA-1 but from your description I think my BDP-105D is more full bodied, warm and musical. My favorite sounding DAC was the April Music DP1 that I had on lone for a couple of years. Unfortunately, it did not convert DSD, which is a requirement for me. The TASCAM DA-3000 DSD recorder has the best sounding DSD DAC I've ever heard and it satisfies me completely sound wise. The main drawback is its small display and the fact it will accept a maximum capacity USB drive of only 64-GB. The Sonica DAC apparently can accept a large capacity USB drive and can use a tablet for displaying music files. If it only sounds good it will be my choice for a DAC/player and preamp all rolled into one. Of course, for a price tag of only $799 it probably won't sound good, but I can hope! ;-)
Thanks,
John Elison
When you say you downsized your vinyl setup, what exactly do you mean in terms of changing phono stages. Is the PS Audio GCPH smaller in size than others such as the E.A.R. or does it just sound better than all the others. The reason I ask is because I would have thought that the E.A.R. 834P or the Aesthetix Rhea might sound better. I've never heard any of these, though. I'm just going by what I read. If I were to downsize my vinyl setup, what would be the advantage of discarding my Pass Labs XOno in favor of something like the PS Audio GCPH.
Thanks,
John Elison
Hi John,
By downsizing my vinyl setup I was speaking mostly in terms of dollars but size was a factor too.
No, the PS Audio GCPH does not sound better than ALL the others but to my ears it sounds better than MANY of the others and it's reasonably priced and flexible. Some of the ones that I think sound a little better include the Rogue Ares (probably my favorite), and the Graham Slee Era Gold V by a very slight margin (on MM cartridges of course as this Slee does MM only).
I prefer the sound of the PS Audio GCPH over the E.A.R. 834P and the Aesthetix Rhea. I also like it better than the battery powered Musical Surroundings Phonomena II.
The Aesthetix Rhea is very versatile with multiple inputs, independent gain and loading for each input, digital display, and a remote to control it all. I thought it sounded a bit on the dark side. I couldn't get past that even with some tube rolling.
The E.A.R 834P was entertaining, exciting, and intoxicating. It makes you say "wow"! And then you get tired of that sweet sugar high and realize you need a more balanced diet of phono amplification. The EAR was very rich and robust sounding especially in the mids, and sweet. But it wasn't very detailed or extended up top. I also didn't think it's internal SUT was very good on MC cartridges. It was much more transparent sounding running the EAR in MM mode with a good external SUT (Bob's Devices).
The Musical Surroundings was good on MM cartridges but sounded compressed (or lacking dynamics) when used with MC cartridges.
I've owned some other phono preamps but when I think back to the ones that sounded great and offered great value and flexibility, I had to go back to the PS Audio GCPH.
The Phonomena II is not battery powered....The Nova is. My Phonomena II+ doesnt suffer from the problems you mentioned.
My mistake. I get their model names mixed up. Here's the Nova that I owned, in my previous listening room several years ago.
Nice!
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