New-PWD Mark II coming soon!

klipschfan · #1 (**permalink**) 11-04-2011, 12:35 PM

From Paul at PS Audio

The Mark II will consist of an entirely new digital input board, firmware update, new remote control and a Critical Link fuse.

These changes can pretty easily be handled by customers at home and we will make easy to use kits available for the upgrade. Once upgraded, there will be zero difference between the Mark I and the Mark II, even down to the labeling. We made sure this is the case so our loyal PS customers who own or are planning on owning a PWD will be taken care of.

Pricing will be the same between the cost increase of buying a new Mark II or upgrading an existing Mark I. However, we will have an early adopter pricing structure for Mark I owners who want to upgrade - so Mark I owners will save a few bucks doing the kit themselves.

I will be leaking out the differences in pricing, features, etc. over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
What I can tell you is this is freaking amazing.

Bridge doesn’t change in MK II.

I can tell you without a doubt this is a major improvement - far more analog like - it’s as close to the best analog recordings I have ever heard. I am impressed with what the engineering guys did.

11 new power supplies, analog switching in place of saturated logic data paths that we use now, a new built in and user selectable jitter reduction circuitry called NativeX - which will just set you back on your heels when you hear what this does - even on I2S inputs (which is still not making sense to me) - but the engineering team outdid itself.

The digital input board is really the digital processing board it’s how all the signals (including the Bridge) get handled and then parsed out to the analog board. This is the all critical board when it comes to anything digital and it’s where anything jitter related is going to occur.

Here’s more of what we’ve managed to do. I think I mentioned the power supplies? These are actually pretty critical and what we did is design an entirely new type of supply that’s ultra low noise and much more precision and not prone so much to back talk from the other supplies. We’ve then placed them in strategic area where there’s a chance for jitter to enter through the power supplies. This, in itself, made an amazing improvement - but there’s more.
In the Mark I (and most DACS we’re familiar with) CMOS switching is employed for the gates and clocking - basically everything having to do with the digital signals. The types of gates being used can be thought of as saturated logic - meaning when they go into the on state they are saturated on. When they transition to the off state they have to go out of saturation and it is here that the problems come up. Switches that transition from a saturated state are not predictable when and how they transition and this can (and does) cause an interesting form of jitter. What’s fascinating about this is its unpredictable nature - every switch leaving saturation state reacts slightly different and at a different time - which seems to be one of the reasons unit to unit variability is more common than we would like. After all, one of the “promises” is that “digital is digital” but as we have all found out, nothing could be further from the truth.
We have replaced all critical CMOPS saturated logic switches with - get this - analog switches. These switches are the same used in analog volume controls and input switches for analog signals. They are fast enough, never go into saturation and are completely predictable, identical and controllable. We are running our critical path digital audio data through these analog switches and the sonic differences are remarkable. I hat to sound trite but I swear they sound far more analog like. Certainly the Mark II does.

We’ve managed to incorporate a major part of the Digital Lens technology into the new Mark II and its function is labeled NativeX. So when you go to the sample rate selection on the touch screen (or the new remote) you can switch from Native to NativeX. NativeX works on all inputs including the Bridge.
Whatever signals we run through the digital section of the DAC - in Native mode - bypass the built in sample rate converter on the DAC. Now, most of you know I am not a big fan of sample rate converters - but got talked into putting it on the PWD by the sales people who did not want our product to not have some of the same features as did other DACS. That decision turns out to be a good one - so I stand corrected - but none-the-less I still don’t like SRCV’s and won’t use them. Our DAC is the only one I am aware of that gives you the ability to bypass the SRC (which is what Native Mode is) - and this is a holdover from stubborn Paul not liking what the SRC does to the digital audio.
One benefit to the SRC - and the reason why every other DAC on the planet has one - is it’s an easy way to get rid of jitter. You place the SRC at the end of the digital chain and whatever happens before that to cause jitter (like saturated logic switches or bad sources) is manipulated out and the output of the SRC has jitter levels around 1ps - very low. What I dislike about SRC’s is the way they do this - with a second clock and digital manipulation in the time domain - and the resulting degradation of thew focus and naturalness of the music. I equate SRC’s to “women of the night” - great looking and enticing but not pure and natural.
So we added much of the Digital Lens technology we’ve been working on for so many years right into the new Mark II - and because we didn’t have enough space on the touch screen display to call it that - we simply named it NativeX because it fits on the touch panel.
NativeX is, in fact, the Digital Lens and now you can activate it with the touch of a finger for any source. So, for example, if you’re playing a jittered source, click in NativeX and bingo - jitter’s reduced to below 1ps right before the DAC and done so without the use of those nasty SRC’s. It’s really amazing what it does to the sound - no one has failed to appreciate it. In fact, Dave Paananen our director of engineering (whose not an Audiophile) still is shaking his head in disbelief (too much education is his problem).
What’s really whacky is how much it helps the Bridge and the PWT I2S inputs - something I would have thought wouldn’t happen. Shows what I know.

VT Skier · #2 (**permalink**) 11-04-2011, 05:37 PM

Thanks for posting this, I'm definitely interested. I definitely need a DAC, and I can't decide whether to go cheap for now (Peachtree iDAC, Bryston) or all in (Simaudio, Berkeley).

The PWD might be a nice middle ground, especially if it really does dispense with jitter. I had planned to use the Bryston BDP-1 with whatever DAC I purchased, but it would be nice to avoid it.

Do you think this might be released before year-end?

Masterlu · #3 (**permalink**) 11-04-2011, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Thanks for posting this, I'm definitely interested. I definitely need a DAC, and I can't decide whether to go cheap for now (Peachtree iDAC, Bryston) or all in (Simaudio, Berkeley).

The PWD might be a nice middle ground, especially if it really does dispense with jitter. I had planned to use the Bryston BDP-1 with whatever DAC I purchased, but it would be nice to avoid it.

Do you think this might be released before year-end?

Being a dealer for PS Audio, I will inquire for you on Monday.

klipschfan · #4 (**permalink**) 11-04-2011, 06:14 PM

Supposed to be announced Nov. 15th. Imagine that it will ship shortly after that time.

Price increase will be Dec. 1st. So....use your Subscriber benefits!.

Am currently using a PWD in my system. (Thanks Ivan!...

)

It is not only a DAC, but can used as a music server (when ordered with the bridge) and replace a preamp as well. Which is how I am using it-direct to amps.

Would also be great used in a simple system. PWD and a pair of powered monitors for a complete system

VT Skier · #5 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 08:54 AM

Thanks Ivan. I went to the PSA forums, and it looks like it will definitely ship later this year at a price of $4,000.

Masterlu · #6 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Thanks Ivan. I went to the PSA forums, and it looks like it will definitely ship later this year at a price of $4,000.

If interested, I can assure you that "You're Price" won't be anywhere near that.

Dj_AmTraX · #7 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 09:55 AM

Very nice....

VT Skier · #8 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:06 AM

Thanks Ivan. I'm struggling, as others here probably do, with the price-performance question. With the digital world changing so rapidly I always wonder whether it's worth paying more for a "better" DAC (Sim, Berkeley) or whether it's smarter to limit my losses and stay with something cheap (W4S, Peachtree). And I've been pondering this for so long the Berkeley DAC is now a Series 2, and the PWD is now a Mk II (or whatever).

Kind of like moving from Dynaudio to Sonus Faber. Or from my Sim I-7 to the P-8/W-7 combo. That move only took me three or four years, with a detour to Lyngdorf/Bel Canto land.

klipschfan · #9 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:14 AM

Can't win with a DAC. At least with PS Audio they have an upgrade path that the owners can do themselves by replacing a board and not having to buy a new DAC.

Upgrade cost will most likely be $799.00 till January. Then it will go up to $995.00.

Masterlu · #10 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Thanks Ivan. I'm struggling, as others here probably do, with the price-performance question. With the digital world changing so rapidly I always wonder whether it's worth paying more for a "better" DAC (Sim, Berkeley) or whether it's smarter to limit my losses and stay with something cheap (W4S, Peachtree). And I've been pondering this for so long the Berkeley DAC is now a Series 2, and the PWD is now a Mk II (or whatever).

Kind of like moving from Dynaudio to Sonus Faber. Or from my Sim I-7 to the P-8/W-7 combo. That move only took me three or four years, with a detour to Lyngdorf/Bel Canto land.

Can't help you there, if you don't get on the train at some point; you'll never move.

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