2. digital
  3. 189415-19946

Opinions on PS Audio Direct Stream DAC (Mk 1)

PS Audio is clearing out factory refurbished Direct Stream DACs, the original version from 2014 or 2015, for about $1800. I'm wondering if I could get opinions on this DAC. It's old technology as far as digital goes, but it got nice reviews when it was new. It can do DSD64 and DSD128. It upsamples everything internally to DSD.

I'm interested in musicality and musical involvement, especially dynamics (macro and micro), accuracy of instrumental timbre and extracting the beauty out of the recording, low noise floor and high resolution.

magon

Showing 1 response by tubeguy80

tubeguy80
16 posts
 

Feel free to enjoy any audio gear despite measurements telling you otherwise. There are interesting arguments to be made as to what exactly those measurements tell us, and why they might be the way they are... but the bottom line is that we like what we like. And there's nothing wrong with that. Don't let a chart or a number on a spec sheet tell you how to listen. 

As for the original PS Audio DirectStream DAC, this is in fact a great deal. Despite being "older" by now, it's still a great sounding device. 

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