PS audio dac

vintage 5.0

vintage 5.0
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Looking to get another dac. I was looking at the PS audio NU Wave dac and was wondering if anyone had one. If so do you like it. Was curious what some opinions on here were about it.
 
Sorry, can't help you in regards to the Nu Wave. But I do love the sound of my Digital Link III. Not sure how much of a "house sound" PS Audio has with their DACs.
My only concern with PS Audio is build quality. The DAC has a slight hiss in the right channel. And a 6.1 preamp gave me such nasty shocks I had to take it out of my system.
 
I have a Nuwave and I have found it to be a reliable performer. I have it hooked up to a Olive cdp/server and a MacBook makes both sound nice and solid. Good clarity, smooth easy sound. No shocks or hiss here.

I’ve had it since the fall of 2016 never a problem. I look at other dacs but I think I’d have to spend a lot more to get better sound. I’ve had a number of dacs, from Schitt to Musical Fidelity.
 
Thanks whyaskit that was my question if it was a good dac. I think you answered that and glad to hear you like it.
 
For me, I was looking at PS Audio or Bel Canto. I ended up with Bel Canto and am very happy, yet still curious about PS Audio and other DAC's. Good luck with your choice!
 
I had a bel canto integrated that had a dac built in and I really liked it as well, but I wanted more than the 60watts/channel it offered. Went with a Krell integrated and the PS audio really rounded out the package. I’ve been happy with the digital side of things.
 
I just got the PS audio new wave dac. I am really impressed to say the least. It is such a nice piece of equipment. I can really tell they put some craftsmanship in it. The sound is so nice. I am just listening to google music and it is so open and the bass is really nice. I will have to try and download some high resolution stuff but so far it is really good. I have never had a piece of PS audio and am impressed.
 
I’ve had it since the fall of 2016 never a problem. I look at other dacs but I think I’d have to spend a lot more to get better sound. I’ve had a number of dacs, from Schitt to Musical Fidelity.

Which Schitt DAC did you use? I have an original Gungnir. I really like it, though I was thinking to at some point upgrade it to multibit. But I have also been curious about the PS Audio options.
 
Are you running the google dongle into it?

I'm going to mod that 25.3 a bit. Sure would be nice to compare the two after I get it done and broken in. Hint, hint......
 
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Happy for you man! I only wish I could directly compare it to my Bel Canto stuff...some day I may have to. I'm sure it sounds great. I was VERY happy, surprised, and impressed when I stepped up into the higher dollar DAC's. I thought stuff like the Fiio D3 and Peachtree DAC-it were okay, but really didn't hear a huge difference. It may have been the inexpensive DAC or the system as a whole, who knows. Either way, I definitely hear a huge difference now with the higher end DAC! I hope you do too, and it sounds like you are hearing a significant improvement over your other DAC's?
 
Which Schitt DAC did you use? I have an original Gungnir. I really like it, though I was thinking to at some point upgrade it to multibit. But I have also been curious about the PS Audio options.

My very first stand alone DAC was a Modi and I really liked it. I Got it when they first came out and Used it for a over a year. It died due to water getting into it. So I got a Bifrost and I liked it as well, but I really didn’t see that there was much of a jump between the two. Not sure if that was due to the equipment I had or what types of files I was playing or just that the Modi was very close in comparison. I really think it is a great value. I wanted to get a DAC that would elevate the digital side of my system and while I felt the Bifrost was very good, I didn’t think it’s sound was a lot higher than the Modi.

I have had a few other DACs and a lot were on the inexpensive side but the Bel Canto integrated with its built in DAC show that there was better to be had, and I kept looking and found the PS Audio.

I’d like to try Wadia DAC that they have for around a grand, a Bel Canto would be nice to hear also and the higher Schitt DACs would also be on my list to try. They are probably very good but I loved the look and styling that the PS Audio had and the cost for the sound and style were very similar to other offerings that did not have a complete package.

Of course this is my opinion and if you like your Schitt, that’s awesome. I’m sure if I had gone that route, I would have been very happy. I would love to heard the Yggdrasil some day but I doubt I would spend that much on a DAC, so maybe it’s better if I don’t. :)

List of DACs I’ve had (as best as I can remember)
Schitt Modi and Bifrost
Cambridge Audio Dacmagic plus and dacmagic 100
Audioquest Dragonfly, original and Black V 1.5
HRT Music Streamer
Musical Fidelity M1DAC
Meridian Explorer
Rega DAC
PS Audio Nuwave

Bel Canto C5i was the amp with the DAC. I also owned an original Sprout and liked its DAC and its phono stage. Nice little amp.

For a while I was big into small form amps. Had the Bel Canto, Rega Brio and the Sprout. But I like more power.

Not a ton but a few. I really like trying new things but for the past few years I’ve been happy
 
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I just got the PS audio new wave dac. I am really impressed to say the least. It is such a nice piece of equipment. I can really tell they put some craftsmanship in it. The sound is so nice. I am just listening to google music and it is so open and the bass is really nice. I will have to try and download some high resolution stuff but so far it is really good. I have never had a piece of PS audio and am impressed.

I’m glad your enjoy you Nuwave!
 
Thanks I really like it. Kurt I am running my windows computer my son made us straight into my dac with USB. It is .a great sounding combo and I am really impressed with it
 
I picked up the DSD version about 2 years ago and set it up with a PC into a Rouge Audio Cronus Integrated amp and it sounds great with standard redbook files, but DSD and SACD files sound incredible. People say that there is no difference with regards to PCM vs. DSD, but I can definitely hear the difference in resolution and clarity in the music.
 
I picked up the DSD version about 2 years ago and set it up with a PC into a Rouge Audio Cronus Integrated amp and it sounds great with standard redbook files, but DSD and SACD files sound incredible. People say that there is no difference with regards to PCM vs. DSD, but I can definitely hear the difference in resolution and clarity in the music.

Thanks for that info. The next DAC I try will likely be a PS Audio DSD. I'm pretty happy with my Bel Canto for now, and I'd better stick with it for awhile or my wife might kill me! LOL.
 
My long-range plan is the DirectStream Jr. or the DirectStream with Bridge II, provided they will work the way I want them to. One very attractive feature is that the DAC itself is upgradable via a firmware update--it does not use DAC chips, but FPGAs to do the conversion. (Field programmable gate array.) That way if a new technology comes along, or new sampling rates, all that needs to be done is to send out a new firmware. Redcloud is the latest version. Now I just hope I can find a used one in black in a couple of years when I'm ready to buy...
 
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