Review and Measurements of Paradigm PW-Link Streamer/DAC

[Laserjock]

I guess I'll give the ML version a shot. I can use analog in and out after my pre before my amp.

Direct from ML or?

 

[d'Brit]

Hey guys,

I've been using my Paradigm PW-Link for about 9 months. Out of necessity, I'm using the wi-fi input. Bypassing the PW-Link's DAC through its toslink out and into an Eastern Electric Tube DAC Supreme to an Eastern Electric MiniMax Tube Integrated to a pair of Omega Loudspeakers Super 3i Bookshelves and a REL T/Zero subwoofer.

Here's my take on it. Pros: It sounds pretty good and can sound very good with some tracks. I stream Qobuz Studio. IMO the ARC room correction is the only reason to get this piece. I've yet to find less expensive, quality room correction, which is why I bought it.
Cons: The DAC is less than satisfactory, which is why I'm bypassing it. The Play-fi software has some downsides; there's about a 5 second pause between tracks and the optical out to bypass the DAC outputs at 16/44-48. It will play 24/96 tracks but hangs up on 24/192 file rates.

In the next month, I'm going to install Fidelizer Pro on an Asus Vivo Mini PC and try out the new Dirac Live 3 software for computers. 14 day free trial. I'll out through the PC's USB 3.0 to an Intona 2.0 Isolator to clean up the USB signal and then on to the rest of the system. The dirac software handles up to 24/192 file rates, which puts it beyond the miniDSP dirac units. If it's a significant improvement over the ARC software, I'll put the PW-Link up for sale.

 

[musicguy]

Be careful. Make sure that the ML version will run ARC Genesis. It is listed on the ARC site as being compatible, but when I asked, ML said the Forte was not compatible.

And it is confirm to be compatible with the paradigm link? I don't need airplay.

 

[Laserjock]

And it is confirm to be compatible with the paradigm link? I don't need airplay.

Right? I couldn’t find that for either one

 

[musicguy]

Right? I couldn’t find that for either one

According to Anthem (Paradigm, Anthem and ML are all the same company), they're both compatible with arc genesis. See this link:

Anthem | ARC® Genesis™

anthemarc.com

 

[Laserjock]

According to Anthem (Paradigm, Anthem and ML are all the same company), they're both compatible with arc genesis. See this link:

Anthem | ARC® Genesis™

anthemarc.com

Thanks, there you go!

 

[al2002]

To be clear, the Genesis ARC site lists both, the ML and Anthem units, as compatible.

However, as I’ve already written, a ML tech support rep advised me via voice mail that the ML was not compatible. When I called up Anthem tech support I was told that the Anthem was not Genesis compatible either. When I told the tech that the Genesis site listed the Anthem link as compatible he looked it up and agreed, but said he had no direct experience with the unit. It appears Anthem/ ML tech support do not know much about these boxes.

It might be best to email both ML and Anthem in an attempt to get a definitive answer.

Would anyone here who has successfully usEd one of these boxes with Genesis ARC please post their user experiences?

Edit: I’ve sent ML an email. Will report what they have to say.

 

[musicguy]

To be clear, the Genesis ARC site lists both, the ML and Anthem units, as compatible.

However, as I’ve already written, a ML tech support rep advised me via voice mail that the ML was not compatible. When I called up Anthem tech support I was told that the Anthem was not Genesis compatible either. When I told the tech that the Genesis site listed the Anthem link as compatible he looked it up and agreed, but said he had no direct experience with the unit. It appears Anthem/ ML tech support do not know much about these boxes.

It might be best to email both ML and Anthem in an attempt to get a definitive answer.

Would anyone here who has successfully usEd one of these boxes with Genesis ARC please post their user experiences?

Edit: I’ve sent ML an email. Will report what they have to say.

I ordered the ML version a couple hours ago, I figured I could use airplay from itunes on my pc, I have a big library. I guess I'll find out when it comes in a couple days.

 

[elliott]

I read through the first 8 or so pages and I have a couple questions.

1. Was the popping between tracks ever fixed with an update? Is it only when using toslink out or also analog? I could go either way with my setup.

2. Right now it's $199 for the Paradigm and ML version, is the only difference between them that the ML version has airplay?

3. If you set the volume to a specific level using the mute/volume down function, is that saved through power cycles?

It seems like this is a very good way to get into room correction on the cheap.


TIA.

I still here pops, just not between tracks, but i never heard them between tracks. If you have gapless playback, you probably won't hear pops between tracks (I don't), but I do hear pops between apps so I'm guessing the popping is somehow related to gaps in signal. My setup is airport express optical out -> Paradigm optical out -> Mini DSP -> bullseye amp -> LX Mini.

Hope this helps.

 

[musicguy]

To be clear, the Genesis ARC site lists both, the ML and Anthem units, as compatible.

However, as I’ve already written, a ML tech support rep advised me via voice mail that the ML was not compatible. When I called up Anthem tech support I was told that the Anthem was not Genesis compatible either. When I told the tech that the Genesis site listed the Anthem link as compatible he looked it up and agreed, but said he had no direct experience with the unit. It appears Anthem/ ML tech support do not know much about these boxes.

It might be best to email both ML and Anthem in an attempt to get a definitive answer.

Would anyone here who has successfully usEd one of these boxes with Genesis ARC please post their user experiences?

Edit: I’ve sent ML an email. Will report what they have to say.

OK, so I went and did more reading on ARC Genesis. It seems like the improvements are solely in the software on the PC side. These are quotes from Anthem:

"If your new or existing Anthem, Paradigm, or MartinLogan product is ARC or PBK enabled*, you can experience a new level of room correction technology and convenience by downloading ARC Genesis software.

* ARC Genesis is not compatible with older products that rely solely on RS-232 connections for data transmission. For legacy product support, please download ARC-1 software."

And

"ARC Genesis® is backward compatible with many Anthem, Paradigm, or MartinLogan products that are ARC or PBK enabled (see full list of compatible products below). This third generation of ARC represents a major leap forward in room correction with the most comprehensive features ever. ARC Genesis transforms the audio performance of compatible speakers or electronics to the unique characteristic of any room. Proprietary Digital Signal Processing (DSP) software works in tandem with the calibrated microphone provided with your ARC enabled product to provide an astonishing improvements to the sound you hear."

It *should* be supported with the ML, I guess I'll find out in a couple days.

 

[musicguy]

I still here pops, just not between tracks, but i never heard them between tracks. If you have gapless playback, you probably won't hear pops between tracks (I don't), but I do hear pops between apps so I'm guessing the popping is somehow related to gaps in signal. My setup is airport express optical out -> Paradigm optical out -> Mini DSP -> bullseye amp -> LX Mini.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply. I'll probably end up using it after my receiver before my amp, so it'll be analog in and out. It doesn't have enough inputs for me to use it on the digital side of the receiver.

 

[Jmudrick]

I have both Paradigm and ML units and ARC works equally well on both.

 

[al2002]

I have both Paradigm and ML units and ARC works equally well on both.

Aee you using ARC Genesis, or the older version of ARC?

 

[Jmudrick]

Aee you using ARC Genesis, or the older version of ARC?

ARC Genesis.

 

[musicguy]

ARC Genesis.

Great! Good to know that I don't have anything to worry about. Thanks.

 

[al2002]

ARC Genesis.

Thanks. That settles it.

 

[al2002]

Ok, I got an email reply from ML tech support. They say Genesis ARC is supported.

 

[Rebelhifi]

This is a great and inexpensive room correction option. As Amir recommended, I set-up as follows:

Airport Express (Apple Music Lossless) optical in (set to max on Apple Express for bit perfect), PW Link (volume 2 clicks below max as Amir Suggested for lowest distortion) out to Topping D50 DAC, to Pre-Amp. I have used the room correction for my ML speakers with the Harman target curve. Now, there is a DAC mode PW Link (it is in the Martin Logan units manual - works for the PW Link). I do not use this mode as it sets the volume to max on the digital output. I followed Amir’s instructions on the volume. I did not hear a difference. It is easier in this DAC mode to turn everything on and off if you do not want to leave it on. I only use the PW Link for room correction as it has too many other quirks and distortion on the analog out.

For my wife, I leave the PW Link and DAC on all the time to make it easy. Turn on Apple Music on the phone and Preamp to enjoy awesome music. Let me know if you need more details. The ML and PW are the same. The ML manual that you can download is better.

Note: You can now substitute the Belkin Soundform Connect for Apple Music Airplay 2. It is $100. It sends lossless at 48 kHz to the PW Link. I have this unit also and works with PW or ML (tested for several weeks).

 

[Rebelhifi]

 

[musicguy]

I got the ML Unison today. I spent a couple hours with it tonight. I recently swapped some drivers on my speakers and converted to active crossovers so my main goal was to correct the sound, it was a little harsh in the treble and sometimes the midrange was a bit over powering. It seems to have accomplished that, everything sounds a bit smoother and a bit less bright. It's still bright, but a touch less. I did not try using it with itunes/airplay yet, I only streamed from Tidal and Qobuz. Right now my setup is recievier ->analog in -> analog out -> crossover -> amps, reason being I have more than one source so I need the receiver for now. However, if I stick to play-fi for streaming, I could technically plug my cd player into the optical and just use the analog for vinyl and then use a dac (I have smsl m100 for now) from the digital out. Hmm.... Anyhow, the play-fi interface is a bit stupid but it does work ok. Also, it sounds a bit better if I stream directly to the Unison from play-fi then if I do it from a chromecast->tv coaxial->receiver->analog in to Unison. For $200, I think this is a pretty solid little device. Also, I have not experienced any popping, the only thing abnormal is a bit of background hiss/noise on the left channel when using analog in and playing at really low volumes, but raise the volume and you can't hear it. And yes, it works fine with ARC Genesis.