PS Audio is offering quite the promo on their PerfectWave DAC w/ Bridge.

Beowulf, I think that is a fair question, but having decided not to go down the Modwright path myself, I can only tell you this: it is simply not the same quality of DAC.  And it's not because of the audio out section, and all the marketing-buzzwords quoted above. The Oppo is a very good DAC at a great price point, with a very good audio out section, and I have zero doubt that the mods will improve the audio, and certainly give it a "tube sound," whatever that may be. But for my signal extractor, I don't want any euphonic-buzzword sound modification. I want the bits extracted, preferably jitter-free. That is what the PWD does. And on the network, it does it significantly better than the Oppo. Hey Oppo, you do know AIFF files are pretty common, right?

I used to own several pieces of Van Alstine audio. What they did with a variety of OEM equipment was amazing. I am sure the Modwright mods extract the most out of the audio section in the Oppo, and then do whatever you want with the tubes they or you put in the socket. And if someone told me I could only have one front end for my entire system, I would definitely choose the Oppo [as I essentially did], and I might consider the Modwright mods, maybe, because not having heard one yet—as I gather you haven't either—I cannot actually attest to the quality of the improvement. I just know the Oppo is more than good enough, if I only could have one source component, and, as you point out, it is a disc player as well, and it is multi-channel. The PWD offers none of that.

But I do know this. I just got done this evening listening to some Redbook from the Oppo directly into my Torii, and then through the coax and optical outputs into the PWD. Cannot play SACD that way unfortunately. None of this is blind, of course, and it is all subject to psychoacoustic perceptions, but if I have my choice, I will play my music through the PWD.

There are no doubt folks who would disagree with that assessment, but all I can tell you is that, as an enthusiastic Oppo owner [both 95 and 105], the DAC is just not in the same league. And the Modwright mods don't change that, nor do they pretend to.

We're fortunate that we have so many choices in front of us, because none of us has to convince anyone. We all get to make our choices from an open market. And I completely agree with you that the PWD is not inexpensive, even with the trade-in. But if one settles on a PWD, and is in the market, there is nothing wrong with saving $1800.

Beowulf, on pure value, it is a no-brainer. As I said above, and in the thread on $1000 DACs, it is near impossible to beat the Oppo as a single source unit. On that basis, the PWD doesn't even come close. With or without mods. And the nice thing about the Oppo is that the mods can always be added later as budget permits. Even a used PWD is typically going to cost twice the new stock Oppo. And if I was starting out, I would start with the Oppo, no question about it. But if someone is already considering a PWD, they should think hard about the promo.  Once you're in the market, it's a heckuva deal.

Still trying to decide whether to keep my BDP-95. Know anyone who wants a good starter universal disc player?

This may be irrelevant as my Oppo is old. I have and Oppo 83 modded by Ric Schultz in 2009. Took out a bunch of unnecessary circuit stuff, new output section, damping, better RCAs, cap changes...can't recall all he did but it was around 500-600 in mods. And Granted this is an old Oppo. But the sound is not even close to my Tranquility DAC in any way......If the Oppo were my main player, my system would not be all that amazing, in fact mediocre by comparison. But then, Oppo has come a long way since then...so I can't say not having heard the newer players.

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I figured as much. Good to hear you like the 105. Interestingly, everyone raved about the 83 then the 95 and so on too. I need to hear a 105. It is odd to compare stuff with no reference between us....All I can say about the Tranquility at this point of how I have it set up, and with the upgraded output section Eric put in it many months back, is that the modded Oppo 83, a Rega Apollo and the ZDAC are not even close to the Tranquility....not even remotely in the same league. All sound good, but that last few % is worth the whole lot to me at this point.

And I see the obsilecence concept of DACs and chips...but when it is this good, it gets hard to figure that this matters in the big picture. There are always those revelations where you notice....yes, it can get better to a notable degree...but at some point it gets pretty hard to eek out. I feel like my sound is in that range now, but I have been surprised before!

Wouldn't it be fun to be able to audition a bunch of stuff in a good room together...What the Decfest is about no doubt....

Hey Beowulf,

Where did you gather this? I know Eric has been working to get high res going a long time. I bet it will be really good. Those guys have a good system for evaluation, for introducing new and creative stuff "outside the box" and extremely high standards.

beowulf shared:
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That's a heckuva deal if it sticks, in effect discounting the P5 B stock even further. I will be getting a P5 shortly.

But I have also been researching DACs. I was prepared to pull the trigger on the PWD trade-in [I have a puny little computer DAC to trade in], but I realized that if there is anything missing from the PWD for me, it is the inability to play native DSD files [just like the PWT won't play SACD]. And the number of DSD-capable DACs is growing, some beneath even the price point of the discounted PWD. In fact, Teac recently released a sub-$1k DoP version [which I don't want].

Anyway, somewhere in the field between the Mytek and the Invicta, I think I am going to find my answer. Some path to resist obsolescence is nice, and most of these offer firmware upgrades, so it comes down to the reliability of the company. Right now, I am leaning toward the Invicta, in part because it gets strong grades for musicality from everyone who reviews it [am waiting to get an appointment for a listening session], and the company has excellent pedigree and reputation. The Lumin, as a network player is intriguing, but it appears to still be more a work in progress. MSB makes great stuff, but they start pushing into the price ionosphere.

And of course, all this digital good ness is destined for Decware tubes.