General Asylum: REVIEW: Perpetual Technologies P-1A / P-3A Combo DAC Processors by Afveep

Confessions of an "Audio Snob"--
Having been into "high-end" audio for, say, about 25 years, I eventually reached that well known point where anything below a certain price point just "could not" be any better than what I had at that particular millisecond in my upgrading timeline. For a DAC and CD Transport combination, $4,000 each was what I considered the minimum entry point to be equal in performance to the rest of my system. I lived happily with a Mark Levinson No. 37 Transport, feeding an Audio Research DAC 3 ( having moved from a Theta to Apogee Electronics in the interim) for quite some time. That was until CES 2000, when I wandered into the Bel Canto room and was blown away by the sound of a $250 DVD player hooked up by toslink (!!) to the new Bel Canto DAC ($1,300.00). Yes, the entire system WAS completely different than my own, but, how could a $1,500 digital front end appear to blow away my $8,000 investment? Well, it was quite a lesson in how technology marches on, and how we all can benefit if we don't let our audiophile snobbery get the best of us. I bought the Bel Canto DAC and lived very happily with it for about two whole months before I saw the Perpetual Technologies ad.

Now, the name Mark Schifter had been well known to me. As principal of Audio Alchemy, he seemed to be EVERYWHERE on the internet. From the earliest days on that (name forgotten) pay audio BBS service, through rec.audio.highend, Mark was always accessible to his customers and potential customers. So when he announced that he was leaving Genesis Technologies and was forming a new company, Perpetual Technologies, I listened. (Mind you, Audio Alchemy occurred during my snob days, so I never bothered to actually LISTEN). I was intrigued by what Perpetual was saying they had accomplished. Spurred on by my new open mind in listening to certain "lesser expensive" products, I ordered a P-1A / P-3A combination. I even sold my Mark Levinson No. 37 transport, and replaced it with a Pioneer DVD player(!)with 96khz output .

As much as I was enamored with the ARC DAC, and later the Bel Canto, the perpetual combo is just no contest. More information, more resolution, no digital fatigue. Razor tight transient response without etching (Ronnie Earl's guitar, for example). And yes, whether it is just a different filter curve, or some other technical magic, there definitely is more information with upsampling than with a standard DAC. The magical harmonic layers that the ARC (tube) DAC enticed me with still exist in the Perpetual, but now emanate from a dead black space."Three dimensionality" of imaging is one of the most important qualities to me in a system, and the Perpetual combo has it in proverbial "spades".

OK- so I wasn't COMPLETELY cured of snobbery-- the $250 Pioneer transport was just bothering me, and, having heard SACD at my friend Mike's house, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase the Sony 777 at it's new low street price. While Perpetual will eventually handle a SACD digital input, since no players provide a digital output at the present time, I could only feed the Perpetual with the redbook CD digital output, bypassing the 777's (very good) internal 44k DAC. Yes, the Sony as a transport substantially beats the $250 Pioneer DVD (although those on a budget should NOT dismiss the Pioneer used with toslink). But the Perpetual combo opens up the Sony on regular CDs, moving them closer to the SACD "sound". The bottom end is tight, strong, and full of harmonic information. The high end is more open, and imaging seems a bit tighter.

I could go on at length about the various setup options for the Perpetual combination, but they have been covered at length in other reviews and in better detail than I can give you. But it's important to note that the Perpetual DAC alone is a winner, and if you can't go for the pair now, get the DAC and add the P1A later. A lot of the sonic signature of the combo is due to the DAC alone, but the P-1A makes it just that much better.

What about SACD / DVD-A ? Yes, highly recommended. But all of us have substantial regular CD libraries, and, for a minimal cost, the Perpetual combo will absolutely get you as much as possible from them, and give you a substantial upgrade path, which is important in these times. And that's the cream on top- you should buy the Perpetual pair for it's sonic beauty now-- but with the upcoming speaker and room correction options to the P1A, it's really a "no brainer". This is really a product for the times- the latest technology, employed in such a way that it will be as "obsolescence proof" as possible. I feel sorry, somewhat, for those companies that still insist on manufacturing very expensive ($2,000 +) DACs.

Yes, this is different than a "typical" review in that I haven't waxed on with specifics of sonic signatures on different cuts of music. But, the reality is, all of our systems are different, and what I hear on mine will likely be different than you on yours. The message here, my friends, is to put your audiophile "snobbery" behind you-- if you are using an expensive DAC/transport combination that is more than 2 years old, you owe it to yourself to try out this Perpetual combination ( they offer a money back guarantee- no excuses) even if you are planning on or currently using SACD / DVD-A. Because it's all about music and sound quality, and not about brand name and price. And if you are on a limited budget, get the P3A DAC now, and add the P-1A later. Either way, you are a winner. You can not buy from a better company than Perpetual- they are tops in terms of product, innovation, "future proofing", construction quality , customer service and especially value! And Mark Schifter actually LISTENS to his customers, and bends over backwards to ensure that they are completely satisfied. My highest recommendation.

Keep your eye out for reports on Perpetual at CES 2001 this week-- they are rumored to be announcing a universal transport.

REVIEW: Perpetual Technologies P-1A / P-3A Combo DAC Processors Review by Afveep at Audio Asylum