Anything wrong with PS Audio DirectStream DACs?

My experience with the Directstream DAC:

Out of the box it feels a little cheap.  There's a glossy top with a ho-hum chassis and a touchscreen that even looks dated compared to a Wal Mart credit card reader.  It's definitely showing its age.

The sound is decent but does not distance itself from any other run of the mill DAC in say the $2k range that has come out in recent years.  I will say the Directstream is a little more laid back than most (this was with Redcloud).  It has good depth but presents everything with this laid back approach, even when the recording calls for more presence or brashness.  I could go on and on but I'd rate every category for the Directstream as a C or B grade.

I currently have a T+A DAC 8 DSD that retails for $4,500.  It's $1,500 less at retail and sounds like it should cost 3x the Direcstream.  It plays in a different league and costs less, but also "demands" a decent PC capable of upconverting PCM to DSD 512.  

I also compared the Directstream to my Fostex HP-A8 that I use in my desktop system.  It's a decent little unit that I picked up for $500.  Its build quality is outstanding, and in a blind test I don't know that the Directstream would beat it.  Certainly it would be up for debate at 1/12th the price.

YMMV

Yes Lilchris I’m totally sponsored.

I’m waiting for my full set of HV series T+A gear to show up any day now after that sick post on Audiogon.

Fostex is throwing in some TH 909’s as well!  😉

I think PS Audio is a great company but I’m just being real and trying to cut through 5 years of hype, Directstream ain’t all that.  

A do-it-all FPGA or chip in a DAC is far from "ideal" in my opinion for several reasons:

First, they are resource constrained compared to the processing even a modest and cheap PC (that is leveraging economies of scale) can do.  You can get far more advanced and powerful filters, and YOUR CHOICE of filter with the push of a button when you're doing the processing server side.  With Directstream you either like the sound of the current firmware filter or you're forced to "downgrade" to an older firmware that has been "destroyed in sound quality" by the latest one according to forum posters.  Silly in my opinion.

Secondly, when doing this processing server side you are moving the signal processing/filtering and its electrical noise AWAY from the noise-sensitive analog signal and even into another room if you'd like; always a good thing.

Unfortunately many Boomer audiophiles still use AOL to "download their emails" so these solutions like PS Audio's magic firmware "upgrades" will continue to thrive.

The future of DACs will be NOS mode with filtering done server side, giving you a wide array of filtering options to suit your taste. 

T+A is already all over this in their flagship design that will now accept a 1024 DSD signal and simply do nothing to harm the pristine bits that were processed on the server.