Waxwing Phono DSP Preamp from Parks Audio with Magic, Optical Out & Full App Control

This thing sounds and works GREAT! I ordered a Used - Very Good item from Parks Audio and what I received most certainly looked like a brand new sealed item! Anyway, setup was easy enough and the only snag I had was switching from analog output to digital output via the app. (You question why the product is silent and you're hearing no sound at first until you remember the included card in the package says "one output or the other, not both".) The app is fantastic and works great. Changing settings on the fly and hearing the changes immediately let's you adjust the sound of your vinyl playing on the turntable to however you like. The audio quality is actually really great. I haven't compared to much in my current system however, right out the gate, this thing is dead silent, music is staged properly and imaging spot on. Tonality seems neutral with all default settings, adjustable settings in the Waxwing app can be tuned hundreds if not thousands of ways. Highly recommend for turntable owners if you're in the market for a phono preamp that works with either a MM / MC cart.

I have my turntable located significantly away from the speakers and equipment rack. Mostly because the room has a suspended floor (over a basement) and I wanted to locate the turntable over a support structure to reduce vibrations. Plus, this puts the turntable next to my listening chair. I use a MiniDSP active crossover, so everything in the equipment rack is in the digital domain. I had a very high-end dual-chassis and tube-rolled EAR834 phono stage next to the turntable with a long RCA cable to the equipment rack. Speakers are Triangle Acoustics with stereo active feedback subwoofers. I ordered the Waxwing, connected it at the turntable, and ran a long coax 24-bit 192kHz to the MiniDSP, all in the digital domain. I opened the Waxwing app, set it up for my cartridge, and preselected a couple goodies (such as the "magic" ). I put on the first vinyl and let 'er rip. Halfway though the first groove, I was already giving the side-eye to the EAR834s. They had to warm up. They used a lot of electricity. They took a long time to setup and get the tubes and capacitors to sound "just right" with my Triangles. I had to babysit them. They now were looking like fussy high-maintenance gear, taking up floor space. The Waxwing just worked, out of the box, first try, no hassles, with no blinky lights and fanfare. Just leave it pulled in. All it takes is a USB power port. No special power supplies (I'm sure somebody makes an audiophile grade USB power port. I use a high-quality Anker.) With my setup with the digital streamer, MiniDSP, and digital audio chain, the Waxwing was a perfect fit. It sounds great, had the "magic" function, superb rumble filter, interesting preset EQs, and warm and air settings. I can move my sources around the room and only need to manage a single long digital coax cable. Plus, it has a built-in pink noise generator. No more hooking up your PC or phone. I've used the Waxwing more than once to "burn in" new speakers, subwoofers, or raw speaker drivers. And the RCA inputs can accept line-level, MC, or MM. When my son visits, he plugs in his keyboard, mixer, computer, and his audio production gear directly into the Waxwing, which converts it to 24/96 and shoots it directly to the MiniDSP. It's my audiophile toolbox. It sounds great, works wonders with vinyl, and does a lot more other stuff. It's reliable, solid, and well-built. It works straight out of the box. You can set it and forget it or mess with the settings in the app to your hearts content. I've got it on very expensive speakers that I have spent years tweaking and fussing equipment, cables, power cords, and tubes. I know their sound and the Waxwing fit right in.

Having owned the Puffin DSP for a few years, the Waxwing is everything the Puffin is and more. The new easy to use interface makes changing settings on the fly super easy. I've used it with a wide selection of MC and MM cartridges and it sounds great. I have 8 different cartridges dialed in and saved. When I change one out, it's just a click and all your saved settings for that particular cart are loaded. No more having to remember settings. It's like "Magic". The optical out is dead silent and removes the use of a ground wire. Shannon Parks is a great owner/ designer, and is not so full of himself to return an email if you have questions, which is very refreshing. At $500 it's a steal for serious vinyl collectors. So many features to tailor your sound to your liking. Also, if you're an audiophile extremists, it's small enough to hide and your audio snob buddies won't ask you if it's digital or not. Lol!

After trying a popular streamer that has a phono pre amp and equalizer as a feature, I told myself, nope, I am going back to an analog phono stage. That other streamer sounded OK , but I felt I was listening to Spotify when playing vinyl records. Then I stumbled upon some videos about the Puffin and the Waxwing and I pulled the trigger. Let me tell you something, the hardest time I had with the setup was trying to figure out if the plastic cover of the optical port was supposed to be pulled off or not (looks like it can stay put). I downloaded the app and it inmediately recognized the Waxwing and the the magic started. With default settings it already sounded better than my Cambridge Alva solo phono stage but then just by trying out all the many options , I just has a huge smile on my face. First , no digital sound signature that I could hear, it just sounds natural and analogue, I dont know how the did it. You have tons of settings to play around with and it has brought a huge enjoyment just in a few hours of playing around with them. This product is obvious that comes from a small company, and I say this in a good way, The language in the instructions both printed and online is just simple to understand, just as if your gear head friend was talking to you. The app is technical but simple to use and has great comments explaining every function. It almost feels like using an electronic lab app, but one easy to use. I wish this company a great success in the future. Who might this product not be for? If you already have a 1K usd plus phono stage (because if you are paying thousands for a phono stage it SHOULD be THAT GOOD); if you are an audiofool that cant stand the idea of converting a turntable signal to digital or wont stand the snobbery of your gearhead friends then this might not be for you.

A small form factor phono preamp with customising functions beyond expected. sound quality after adjustments is amazing for the price or at any price! The magic feature works well eliminating pops and cracks for a cleaner sound, also has a grading feature that works well all over bluetooth. I highly recommend the waxwing!!!

Ich nutze den Waxwing mit meinem MC Tonabnehmer AT 33PTG/II und habe das Gerat digital über Toslink an die Anlage angebunden. Relativ rauscharm, absolut kein Netzbrumm, extrem flexibel zu konfigurieren. Bei korrekter Einstellung der Gainstruktur (peak Level Anzeigen in der App vorhanden) werden Knackser auch ohne "Magic" Funktion nicht betont wie bei so vielen anderen Phono Vorverstärkern, die zu wenig Headroom vor allem bei hohen Grequenzen haben. Ein tolles Gerät, vorbehaltlos zu empfehlen.

Este es el segundo equipo que compro de este fabricante. Se trata de un preamplificador de phono para ser utilizado para conectar una tronamesa a un equipo de audio. Las agujas de los tocadiscos son de dos tipos bobina movil y magneto movil, dejando de momento al lado la diferencia tecnica, las agujas de bobina mobil tienen una salida al rededor de diez vevces mas baja que las de magneto movil pero a cambio en general las de bobina movil suenen mejor y sos mas caras, algunas de ellas increiblemente caras. Este pre de phono es realmente muy bueno y el único de los dos que conozco, que funciona con una aplicación en el celular, que permite hacer ajustes que le permiten al usuario variar no solo los valores que algunos pre de phono permiten ajustar, este pre permite ajustar muchos mas y son realmente útiles, de entrada lo básico se puede ajustar la impedancia de entrada a 200 ohms para cartucho bobina móbil y a 47k ohms para magneto móvil y la ganancia ha cualquier valor hasta 70 db mas que suficiente para cualquier cartucho, pero tiene varios otros ajustes muy interesantes. La opcion majic disminuye el ruido causado por el uso y el polvo, los clicks, sin afectar el sonido del disco, se puede incrementar o disminuir los bajos o los agudos que genera el cartucho y es útil para balancear el sonido, puede llevar la cuenta de cuantas horas hemos utilizado el cartucho, todo desde la app en el celular. Ademas una algo único de este pre de phono, tiene tanto la salida normar amalógica rca asi como dos salidas digitales óptica y coaxial, esto porque dado que es un pre phono digital, convierte la entrada en digital hace los ajustes de la señal en digital y convierte ya preamplificada de nuevo a analógica, asi que es posible tener salida tanto analogica como digital, y esto es algo fantástico y que permite usar un dac externo. Yo no uso la salida analogica uso la digital porque mi dac es muchisimo mejor que el convertidor analogico digital de este pre phono, y el resultado es un excelente sonido, con una tornamesa Linn LP12 y un DAC Benchmark, lo recomiento ampliamente!

First, this an amazing phono pre-amp before considering all the clever digital stuff it does. I'm upgrading from a fairly modest but capable ART DJ Pre II. The Waxwing has a deliciously smooth but punchy sound. It's making me play all my old records again with newfound enjoyment at all the detail it's finding in them. Unlike any other preamps though, this is built for the future. You can dial in gain and load settings for different carts, MM and MC, and make all sorts of tone and level adjustments for different records (mono, 78s, alternatives to RIAA equalisation, etc.). Cart sounds a bit clinical? Dial in some warmth, or add a bit of valve distortion. Vinyl sounds dark and muddy? Add air and treble. And then there's the Magic button, whuch subtly removes crackle and pop, but so discreetly and without a hint of artificiality. It's fun and it's wonderful. It might seem pricey for such a diminutive object, but it's cheaper than replacing your entire hi fi and record collection, and that's the level of improvement it produces!

I like the sound of good vinyl records. However, I think there are too many vinyl records cheaply made these days. This device is versatile and can do many things right. I am not an analog purist and I think perfecting the sound in the digital world and converting it back to analog is not a sin. It is a good thing. This device can also reduce the vinyl annoying tick and clicks. A Very small number of recordings are done in analog studios these days. This device can make each record sound at its best. However you will need to create a few profiles and save them to be used later when needed. Older records are bright with thin bass. Newer records have a lot of bass but highs are dull. With the waxwing you can get the best sound of most vinyls in your collection. You will need to play a bit with the adjustments and save them in your app. Also, as a bonus you can use the device to fine-tune your turntable. I highly recommend this device even if I think it is too expensive.