If you still spin CD's their is a reference level Transport for reasonable money

Hi Guys, Mike Powell here.Ive got a Jays here now. Ive never... ever... ever seen a product like this. Esoteric is the closest thing. Its so well built, I really really want to keep it but it does not sound any better than my music server and its a heck of a lot more foot work to play music...Tonight I'll test server i2s vs transport i2s. So anyways not only can I vouch for the heft and sonic of this piece, but I am your factory rep right here in USA. I handle all warranty repairs right here in ATL. You also buy through me as well, so you have the insulation layer between China and yourselves. No sending money to a foreign entity and hoping whats in the box is what you purchased. Honestly, I dont know how much that even happens, but with me here you now have piece of mind regarding any overseas concerns. I also handle Kinki Studio and Denafrips along with stateside brands like Jeff Rowland, Exogal and a few others. I'm not a dealer or distributor, for this purpose here, I'm a factory rep and systems integrator if anything. Your product still ships factory fresh and direct like before except now I am guarantor.  I'm more of a "known associate" to companies like JRDG that allow me to sell as dealer even though I am not a dealer per se.  I am a killer client service guy though. So anyways, Ive got to run, just wanted to pop in and introduce myself. Feel free to email any of your feedback or questions my way. I'm happy to assist.

Oh yes, if you guys want to hear this equipment or see it closer in a rig, or even toe to toe shootouts Check out my Youtube channel called OCD Hi-Fi Guy. Happy listening !

@char1  I'm not sure about RMAF, honestly Ive taken it as far as I can by being the "cable guy" along for the ride.In order for me to be most effective I would /will have to prove it by doing the dog and pony and I'm not so sure that is time well spent. I believe there are other ways to reach the listeners, they can prove it to themselves in thier own rig which is best anyways. Recently I have been taking listeners that feel sort of stuck without getting the "youre there" magic, and going through their rig piece by piece to bring it around. Crazy as it sounds I feel I have actually "saved" rigs from being sold. The hard part is finding the willing. Almost all of us want to read about it and then do it ourselves to feel that accomplishment. The thing is, not everyone has heard what world class level sounds like or even how to get there so tuning for it is impossible. I have been enjoying working with clients on a wholistic level whereby we sort the rig, room and all. But for those that understand cables make or break the rig, its still totally entertaining for me to listen to them try to describe what they are hearing now. I know exaclty what they mean, but the things they come up with are so funny.. I love it.. They are all worked up and excited because they call me 10 minutes in, so last night it was "its like, like...umm. like Superman came into the system and is flying around.."  earlier a guy was speaking about a rig being so tubey that you could have ladled the sound like gravy.. Too much fun this crazy hobby. So I will probably not be at RMAF, I'll probably switch to the overseas shows as I'm just not feeling the ROI from American shows so much lately.At the very least the travel alone brings ROI for overseas shows. Feel free to call me anytime Charlie. My hours are 10 to 10,  7 days a week. Cheers !
@in_shore How did you hear about Rockna originally? not many people know of it. Which model did you get ?  I may be able to share what I learned about it as its a hotrod piece. My current reference.. Also, feel free to contact me at Verastarr it just might be worth your while to try a Grand Illusion to feed it power. ;-)

@nonoise, you are correct .. The Rockna wavenet server which is pretty killer sounding sounded no better than the Jays when playing the first track of side 2 Pink Floyd The Wall via USB with Jays using SPDIF. The piece I was playing on the server was being played from my desktop hard drive as the core, so it was across the network with no special ethernet anything. Tonight I'll turn the screws a little tighter and go i2s and use the onboard SSD as source. Lets see what happens.. Yes for certain it is a killer transport I would totally love to keep it but thats just not a smart use of my capital right now. Ive got a CODA Integrated coming in to compare with Kinki, I bought it as a backup, then Ive ordered a custom 4 way discreet differential crossover and on and on.. lol Cheers !
@in_shore its always interesting to me how people find out about them. Ask Bob out of all the 500 power cables hes tried which one is his favorite.. Did you go Sig Balanced .. or ?  yes, feel free to call anytime..

Hey Snopro, i2s on transport comparing AES vs i2s will happen this weekend and will report findings. CDT 3/ AES vs Wavenet /I2s was indistinguishable. CDT3 teamed with Stello D700 comparing wordclock in and out gave me hope for outboard wordclock as it was audibly more pleasing with it in. @T.J. always amazes me how many people will speak like they know something when they have never personally heard both items. Today I got one of my clients to drop off a PS Audio Direct whatever DAC so I can finally talk about this thing which I dont like but never speak to that because Ive never had it in my rig. I am fully anticipating to be able to talk smack about PS Audio after my tests and Im hoping to drive my feeling home that PS Audio is Mid Fi at best. For some reason these PS users love to fight. They spout off at the mouth any chance they get using words like "best" ..lol so I want fuel for battle. I simply think they have not heard anything better. Now I just stuck my neck out and If I deserve schooling and a  slap for that little rant I will honor truth and give it to you guys with an apology.. Sheesh..
@DavidTen Signature Rockna is at least 30% better sounding than the regular. In fact I declined Rockna based on the "edition" model. Sig Balanced in 20 seconds had me rationalizing its purchase which was totally beyond my normal limit for a DAC. It has something that no other DAC to this day has had for me which is a level of realism, lucidity and presence that is utterly chilling. Its paradoxical because its seemingly a small difference in imaging. But that small difference bumps it into a level that disqualifies everything under $20K. Id really love to know where it goes from here. I know for a fact they could have taken this unit farther, because I sensed it then I asked the owner. This puppy is at the starting line of a different level. Clearly someone understood this level to place this DAC just inside it. and for $13,500 its admission into Uber DAC level. By the way Rockna developed the i2s for PS Audio..
As far as transport, I dont normally use transports to compare transport only, I can treport however one night things were sounding
forward and aggressive to the point, I went to transport for relief. I used AES to Rockna DAC. I was instantly slammed with density of tonality to a point that clearly defined those words to me. It was like sonic thickened up. She became zaftig and fertile from bony and stark. It was a heavy shift. I will try to recreate it because it was defining in nature, it was so noticeable.

I’ll say this one time and any other statement in opposition to this is just wrong or uninformed, or naive in my opinion.

Music will sound its best in its native recorded format PERIOD. Its why I own Reel to Reel tape players, so I can listen to Floyd on TAPE. Hendrix, Zeppelin, my faves.. Native format If you cant do the tape then do the original transfer rate or the digitally recorded master rate. Anything else is a stroke job to get you to buy something. 16/44.1 sounds so good in my rig, I am not even aware that another format exists and my rig plays them all indiscriminately whenever it comes across them in the library. so DSD and high bitrate PCM come in and out during listening without my knowledge.

I found myself digging for my old DAC/s and so my Wadia 16/44 DAC with AT&T Glass optical input and my TEAC VRDS 20 Transport will be brought into the mix along with my old MBL DAC.. lets really vet some of the old dogs.. I’ll net they are not as bad as we all thought
gotta sleep .. goodnight !

OK Kids, so Ive finally spent some time with the PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Red Cloud. Its what I expected for the most part. Look, its not a bad DAC, to me its run of the mill. Good. In no way great as far as I’m concerned, but realize, my reference is a Rockna Wavedream Signature Balanced .. to date I have not had a better DAC through here. Tonight Ive got a Vermeer Two which is the continuation of the French Company Audio Aero.. made some heavy hitter DACs back in the day. Its $20K so lets see how she does. I also have a MSB Analog DAC, another I’m not familiar with.

So the direct stream DAC is absolutely best on I2s in fact so much so that I would ONLY consider this DAC if you plan to use it with i2s or not purchase it at all.. I know much better DAC’s for $3K (Rockna Wavelight, Exogal Comet) which is what the real street price for the PS Audio is. Its rolled off on top. Absolutely zero leading edge, therefore not present nor 3D. Mid was grainy to me, and good bass. I am being objective and fair, if it was great I would say so and apologize for talking smack. I think the Metrum Acoustics Adagio does this type of sound better, because its R2R and NOS, but smooth musical and organic. The PS did not approach "real" in terms of the sound, the good thing is it only misses the boat for me because of what it does not do, not because it does anything bad. But the firmware updates and stuff ?? To me looks like a tool to keep the client base, if it changes things so greatly then at best you have a DAC in which you can not count on its character, because its always in flux.. so you must retune the rig every update. You guys should charge PS labor, for the re tune you must do each time. So I recommend Metrum Acoustics Adagio over PS. what I really dig about Adagio is it does not play DSD, but it does have a MQA module. So now when I tell someone the weak link is the PS , I know from experience .
@ Ducks2007 My opinion is polarized on pretty much all things. I’m an all or none OCD type freak that notices all the little things. I dont need credentials to make big statements, have you vetted your beloved reviewers and thier "credentials" ? Let me purge facts if thats what floats your boat. I design HiFi products, and Ive done this as a full time career for the last 15 years, Ive learned about audio from Mark Levinson, Neslon Pass, and Jeff Rowland (among others). I have owned an amplifier manufacturing company in California whose lineage went back to Altec Lansing. Ive sued a company in the industry for copyright infringement and won. Ive filed a patent for a connector that replaces both RCA and XLR as obsolete. I used to travel to other states to see the Grateful Dead, My girlfriend is Costa Rican, I drive a Volvo, I had Thai for Lunch, and I put on my underwear the same way everyone does this A.M. So I am a regular guy just doing my thing and my opinion is never worth any more than any other human. We are all equal in our right to talk smack. PS is the weak link in your rig.. get past it and new realms will open up to you.. Just sayin..
all the best gang, I’m going to disappear for a while. Find me on You Tube under "OCD HiFi Guy" I will post the videos I took of Rockna Wavedream Sig vs PS Audio Directstream DAC.. Happy Listening !