PS Audio Direct Stream MK2 DAC


While researching the PS Audio Direct Stream MK2 DAC on the PSA Forum, I came across this:

"Regarding “hum,” Ted said: “ You had the opportunity to return your device if it was wasn’t acceptable. I don’t know how one could claim to have been screwed…….”

Not only that, this “hum” was a known feature, as it was discussed early and often in the beta thread. Paul even went so far as to claim every component PSA has ever produced (or at least, every component on his shelf) has this hum."

Further, Ted himself says:

"The hum is coming from the piezoelectric response from a few critical capacitors in the power supply. The device was designed with a component that wouldn’t cause this problem, but supply chain problems forced us to design in a slightly older version of the part which caused the hum. Unfortunately, the new and old parts aren’t footprint compatible, so we’re stuck with the older version for a while even when the newer parts become available again."

Ted is Ted Smith, the" Chief Digital Dude" at PS Audio.

Question to all PSA DS MK2 DAC owners, do you hear a hum?

All in all, do you think it would be better to wait for a while until the problem sorts itself out - OR - is it "much ado about nothing" and I should just go ahead and get the PSA DAC?

I am leaning towards waiting .... But I am interested to hear your views too.

 

 

 

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@oczed reading comprehension is taught in grade school. Logic is taught in high school and college. Did you complete any of this schooling?

When someone offers a trade-in for a machine with a network streaming ability for the new version that DOES ship with an integrated network card, you should either be told the network card doesn't do what it did previously or it should be equivalent/superior functionality. This is really just simple logic so I feel very sorry for you. Best of luck stumbling through life with such "cloudy" thinking. 

@markmuse - same points on simple logic to you - PSA were the ones that said the MK1 Bridge was noisy - send me your email and I'll forward the support note where they said the MK1 Bridge II was noisy. So they regularly ship noisy products but are supposed to be a leader in noise suppression eg DS power plants. They aren't scientifically testing their products or they are testing them but just don't care the products are noisy - don't see much room in between. Which do you think it is? 

@acmaier3 - Well, because you asked about the sufficiency of my education in regards to my reading comprehension and logic… Yes, I have a law degree from a top 5 law school and am admitted to two state bar associations. I think my reading comprehension and logic are sufficient to get by in life.

Not sure what to tell you here… no one else was confused about the product. The unit never shipped with a network streaming card.  I never saw anything from PS Audio claiming as such and I’ve been following the development and release of the MK2 over the last couple years.  

Best of luck to you on your journey. 👍

@oczed  I enjoyed your post. A calm, logical response to criticism is always welcome!

The Airlens was to be their streaming component. PS Audio has a reasonable trial period. Many years ago Paul was 75% engineer and 25% marketeer. Perhaps we could fairly suggest that this ratio has moved towards marketing. Following threads at the PS Audio Forum made me aware of how audio companies have been struggling with supply and cost. I also have Ted to thank for making their I2s implementation clear, which runs counter to what I’ve taken as Paul’s I2s explanation, which made me think that clock signals were being sent to and used by the DAC via I2s.