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The Perfect Wave DAC is more than just a digital to analog converter... it is the first high-end product to fully transcend the limitations of traditional DACs by providing uncompromised performance for any media delivery or storage system possible. This means that it no longer matters how the digital audio data is stored or delivered, the PWD produces the same high performance audio sent over a network, taken from a hard drive, a CD or even downloaded via the Internet.

As a stand-alone DAC
The PWD will accept inputs from any digital source via any of its seven digital inputs - two I2S via HDMI, TOSLINK, coaxial, AES/EBU, USB, or the network bridge (coming soon).

The most unique inputs are the I2S via HDMI inputs, and the network bridge. The HDMI inputs are designed not for accepting HDMI data, but instead are utilized in a unique PS Audio-designed standard for I2S data. I2S data is the native data management system within every transport, CD player and DAC. It consists of three separate clocks and one digital audio data line.

When a separate transport and D to A processor are used in a system, the I2S data inside the transport is typically mixed together to form one single data line so it can easily be transferred between the transport and the DAC through either optical, coax or balanced means. The format used to send this data is called SPDIF (Sony Phillips Digital Interface) and is found on every CD player and transport from the least expensive to the most expensive units.

Once the S/PDIF signal is received by the DAC it must then be separated back into its I2S components and that is where the trouble lies. The process of encoding and then decoding the I2S data into SPDIF data compromises the audio quality on a high-end system. The PWD's unique I2S over HDMI solves this problem in a simple elegant fashion and the audible results are breathtaking. Openness and clarity like you've never experienced in your digital audio system; ever.

The PWD has three I2S inputs. One can be used for the PerfectWave Transport (PWT), the second can be used for future products we build or for the addition of the upcoming PS Audio Digital Lens. The third is accessed internally by the optional network Bridge.

As a music server
Using the network bridge, the PWD can access and control any network source such as a network hard drive, or stream music directly off the Internet. We recommend using what's called a DNLA compatible external hard drive called a "NAS" which is a stand-alone networked hard drive. This allows you to put the hard drive anywhere in the house, keeping the noisy fans from interfering with the music. These devices also tend to offer the greatest flexibility in size, so whether you have 300 albums or 3000, you can be covered. A one-terabyte hard drive can typically store about 2400 albums with no loss of quality, and most hard drives this size can be purchased for $200 or less. Connect any DLNA compatible NAS (there are many to choose from) to your home network, copy your music to the NAS and you are done. The PWD will find the NAS anywhere in your home using the Network Bridge.

The Network Bridge
Inside the Bridge is a remarkable piece of engineering that consists of 3 main elements: the communication portal, the musical format interpreter and a Digital Lens. The communication portal communicates with your local area network (LAN) to find your network hard drive, or computer if you're streaming music from the Internet. Any DLNA device will be automatically detected and controllable via the front panel display, or the soon-to-be-released iPod/iPad/iPhone application. The network bridge can accept nearly all formats of digital music files, including FLAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Windows media, Apple, etc. then convert them into the optimal format for use with the PWD. Once the raw data is compiled, it is sent to the Digital Lens.

The Digital Lens
This component is what makes the network bridge so special. Without this lens, the quality of the digital information would be significantly degraded. To date, no one has gotten this part right. All the other attempts at transferring data over a network have been compromised at best; introducing high amounts of jitter, errors, and improper formatting. The Digital Lens is a device that takes any quality of digital audio data and focuses it to a single, perfect point of data. The Lens does this with the use of a very large digital storage tank (memory) coupled with a jitter free set of asynchronous (disconnected) clocks to output data to the Lens in perfect I2S format.

Front Panel Controls
The touch-screen front panel of the PWD gives you many different options for controlling the digital data being processed. First is the sample rate converter, which gives you six different sample rate choices, as well as a way to defeat the sample rate converter, so all you hear is the native sample rate. This is extremely important for those of you who are planning on listening to "high-definition" tracks which are natively recorded at 24/96, or higher. The sample rate converter comes in handy when the source being used is of low quality and may not be transmitting the highest quality digital signal into the PWD.

After the sample rate converter control come the digital filters. Every D to A processor made uses both a digital filter as well as an analog filter to get the audio as close to the analog signal the recording engineer started with. The digital filter is a part of the DAC and the analog filter is a part of the analog output stage. The PWD allows you to select from five different digital filters, or simply select "Auto" and let the DAC decide which filter best suits the file it is decoding.

You can also control polarity inversion on the PWD. Sometimes you get a recording that just sounds "off." In this situation, you may be listening to an album that was recorded out of phase, or with inverted polarity. In this situation, press the polarity button and it will invert polarity, so that the output is now in proper phase.

You can even use the PWD directly connected to your power amplifier. The PWD allows you to control the volume via the touch screen on the front panel or via remote, as well as selecting any of the seven digital inputs connected. The sound quality while running direct is stunning, and if the PWD is your only analog source, it really helps to clean up the clutter, while cutting down on extra gear and cables that can introduce potentially unwanted noise or coloration.

I know there's a lot of info here... and we've only scratched the surface. In order to really appreciate not only the features, but the resulting music that they create, requires an audition.