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Quick Start Guide 5
®
Quick Start Guide
©2012 PS Audio Inc. All rights reserved.
Owner’s Reference
PerfectWave DAC MKII
Should the PWD need to be rebooted, use the rear panel power switch.
SELECT THE INPUT
The first step is to select the input you wish to play. The input select is on the far right hand side
of the touch screen. Touch the input selector icon (or use the remote) and the input selection list
appears. Scroll through the list and touch the input you wish to play. The screen reverts back to
the main screen and the selected input is displayed.
Each input has a lock light associated with it. The lock light has two states: connected (green) and not
connected (red). This lock light indicator is located in the upper right hand corner of the input icon.
INPUT NAMING
For greater convenience it is possible to assign a custom name to each input such as
PerfectWave Transport, Apple TV, etc. To name each input, touch the input icon from the main
screen. The input list appears. Touch the small edit icon of the input you wish to name and the
edit screen appears. Type in the name of the product and touch “SUBMIT”. If you wish to
return to the default input name, go to the second keyboard screen (accessed by pressing the
numeric key labeled 123/.!) and touch “Restore Default”.
The PWD offers NATIVE, NATIVE X as well as multiple up and down sample rate options through the
Sample Rate Converter (SRC) icon. Touch the SRC ICON or use the remote keys labeled SR- and SR+ to
change the sample rate.
NATIVE is the original untouched sample rate as transferred from the digital source. Use this
mode whenever you are using an I�S input, a high-resolution audio file or, as your listening
experience would suggest. Many people feel that NATIVE is a cleaner and more natural
presentation of audio that does not rely on the digital manipulation found in the SRC.
Nearly all DACS use sample rate converters (SRC’s) for elimination of jitter inherent in the S/PDIF
conversion process as well as to help the audio sound better. When using the PWT alongside
the PWD, there is very little to no jitter to be concerned with so it is questionable whether you
might want the SRC in the picture at all. Thus we added, on the touch screen of the PWD,
Native mode. Native simply means that there is no sample rate converter used and we receive
whatever the source is producing natively.
If you are playing a CD, native gives you 44.1kHz (the native sample rate of a CD). Playing a high-
resolution audio disc, you get that sample rate (96kHz to 192kHz). Native mode is one of the stronger
features of the PWD and experimenting with the system will show off its qualities.
NATIVEX is the same as NATIVE but adds a PS Audio Digital Lens. The Digital Lens provides better
sound quality for any input. The Digital Lens is an asynchronous device and when used, every input of
the PWD will become a true asynchronous input - reducing jitter by the use of an asynchronous clock.
NATIVE X is the preferred listening position for all inputs and is available only on the PWD II.
Increasing or decreasing the sample rate is a matter of personal preference and these setting should be
determined through listening. The NATIVE sample rate for CD’s is 44.1kHz. Sample rates for computer
Sample Rate
