General Asylum: REVIEW: PS Audio PerfectWave Transport CD Player/Recorder by SalD

Model:	PerfectWave Transport
Category:	CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price:	$4000
Description:	memory-buffer CD transport
Manufacturer URL:	PS Audio

Review by SalD on February 11, 2016 at 20:58:55
IP Address: 67.87.154.79 Add Your Review
for the PerfectWave Transport

My dCS Verdi died recently, and since the company is no longer servicing their discontinued lines, I was advised to 'upgrade'. Being too close to retirement to consider staying within the family, I looked over reviews of the pitiful current offering of CD transports for a reasonable price/performance ratio and settled on the PWT, although I couldn't find a single review that separated it from its partnered DAC. I decided to trust the company name and McGowan's frequent articles and interviews that make him, in my mind, anyway, a mainstay in the field.

I was not disappointed with my purchase. Right off the bat, I could tell this was nothing like the Verdi. I had to get through some difficult OCD to fend off all the hype that the special I2S connector to PS Audio's house DAC made all the difference. I connected it to my Delius with a simple XLR to keep the whole system balanced and didn't feel like I was missing a thing. To keep it short, since the Verdi and PWT are the only CD sources I've had in my system in 16 years, I can only comment on the differences and basic sound signatures. The Verdi, three times as expensive, had a vastly bigger soundstage, both horizontally and vertically. Its resolution was pointillistic. It offered an audiophile's wet dream of a presentation... hey, where'd THAT come from? Where'd the walls go? And it played SACD!

The PWT's soundstage is definitely shorter and narrower, but the sound is more concentrated, more emotional than intellectual. The music isn't as thin... it has more body, especially true when I listen to solo instruments like cello or harpsichord. The PWT is punchier, more substantial... trombones, Sinatra, basses, etc, have the requisite weight I had not heard before. No, Hendrix's guitar isn't quite as phasey and psychedelic and room-filling as it was with the Verdi, but when I hear Red House from the Isle of Wight, the tone is so fat and so present, I forget about the fringe stuff.

Not saying I wouldn't like my Verdi restored to its original glory, but I'm very, very happy with the PWT.

Product Weakness:	a little finicky about specks of dust or tiny smudges on CDs... will stop the thing cold. A micro-fibre glasses cleaner applied to the CD usually does the trick, but you've got to turn it off and back on to release the disc.
Product Strengths:	fat, incredibly flowing sound. If you love the cello...

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: BAT VK-200
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): BAT VK-3ix
Sources (CDP/Turntable): PS Audio PerfectWave Transport
Speakers: Harbeth 30.1
Cables/Interconnects: Cardas Neutral Reference; Cardas Cross
Music Used (Genre/Selections): jazz, baroque
Room Size (LxWxH): 11 x 10 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments: yes, I know; Jim Smith's Get Better Sound; ASC Tube Traps; GIK absorbers
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Shunyata Guardian
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	BAT VK-200
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	BAT VK-3ix
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	PS Audio PerfectWave Transport
Speakers:	Harbeth 30.1
Cables/Interconnects:	Cardas Neutral Reference; Cardas Cross
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	jazz, baroque
Room Size (LxWxH):	11 x 10 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments:	yes, I know; Jim Smith's Get Better Sound; ASC Tube Traps; GIK absorbers
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Shunyata Guardian
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner