Thanks guys for your replies...YES, an FPGA DAC was exactly what I was reading about. Given the ever-evolving digital space, this concept made (makes) sense to me -- as long as the engineer/designer and the company are long-term players in the industry, else those periodic software upgrades/updates cease to come. Maybe not that big a deal unless a new digital format comes about or something similar. I'm going to check out the 2 videos (above) next.
is the PS Audio Direct Stream the most common example of an FPGA DAC ?
Thanks, Jim