PS Audio Direct Stream MK2 DAC

I've had my Mk 2 DAC for over a month. It is completely silent mechanically and electrically. It sounds fantastic, and I got $3500 credit by trading in my Mk 1. A no-brainer really, and I'm looking forward to the free firmware upgrades to come over the years I will own it.

I have a DSD MKII.  It is a fantastic piece of gear.  I would highly recommend it.  Very natural detail sound.  Super sound stage.  I give it two thumbs up.  I have had many a fine CD player in my system in the past but the DSD MKII and SACD Transport are excellent components.  Oh, also, no hum other than me maybe humming along with some of the music.  

Don’t issue products with known hum. What company does that? For $6k no less. Forget that!!!

@dcpillai 

If possible, I recommend in-home audition. Holo May KTE can be your end game DAC. In addition to premium parts in May DAC, a dual-chassis design of physically and electrically isolating the sensitive audio circuitry from the noise-generating components is always a huge plus not to mention the beefed up power supply. 

@lalitk I am just about to lay down the deposit for the Spring DAC Level 3 KTE! Though it's without the preamplifier. Or do you think I should get the Holo May DAC instead? 

@fittebd Hmmm. You might have a point about the hum being a "feature". I checked and its from the text that I quoted in my first post above, ie what was said by a participant on the forum. I cannot say that those words came from Ted Smith himself. Thank you for pointing it out. 

I have a MKII on order.  PS Audio has been fantastic about repairs, etc.  One of my monoblocks ran warmer than the other, and since they were such early units, they paid for shipping both ways for both units to check them both out and make any production upgrades.  They came back even better sounding.  From reading the hum thread about the DS MKII, it seems they had to substitute a part due to the worldwide parts shortage and had to change the design a tiny bit due to that.

Same with having to resdesign for dual smaller FPGAs instead one larger one.   That’s what was available and I’m okay with that.  
I’m already on the waiting list for a new custom designed transformer that is supposed to take the Dac into $15-20k range, sound quality wise.  

Ted already has some amazing ideas of how he’s going to utilize that second FPGA, and if the MKII’s sonic evolution is anything like the MKI I experienced, it’s going to be an exciting ride.

 BTW my MKI started life as a perfect wave Dac, and was still offered full trade in value.  And PS Audio will still warranty the DAC with an aftermarket transformer!!!

I don’t know any other company that would support (properly) modded products, so kudos to them.   

My contact at PS Audio tells me that an oscilloscope can pickup a little hum from the transformer. But there is no audible hum. I have a DSDMk2 on order. Trading in my DSDMk1. 

since hum is only from unit, and can't be heard from an inch away, I have no concerns

@jl35 

Some electronics are inherently noisy. Check with manufacturer before you drive yourself crazy trying to isolate or eliminate the hum. All the electronics (solid state) in my system are dead quiet…no hum or white noise. When I owned tube electronics (amp and pre), I did hear slight noise when my ear was next to the tweeter. 

reading this, I find I do hear a hum from some of my components if I literally have my ear touching, or a fraction of an inch away...nothing from one or two inches away

I have owned 2 PS Audio products - first the DS Jr DAC, then the Stellar phono preamp. Fremer gave that phono preamp an excellent review and I bought it when they had a promo on it. He mentioned hum problems with it, which he said he was able to resolve, without explanation. I also had the hum problem. At some point one of the channels stopped working and I sent it in for repair under warranty. When I got it back I no longer had the hum issue, so I don’t know if they figured out a way to fix the issue and did it when I sent it in for service. I sold the DS Jr DAC about a year ago and bought a Holo Audio Spring 3 DAC. Even though it can’t be upgraded, I have been very happy with the sound and found it to be a big improvement. I don’t know how the Mk II DAC sounds, but I believe it costs about twice as much as the Spring 3. A lot of DAC choices out there these days.

I’m curious about the Air Lens streamer and have been waiting a long time for it to become available and see how it compares to the Lumin U2, another option I’m considering.

@dcpillai Not sure where you saw its a feature.  Ted Smith mentioned that all large transformers hum.  

That being said there 1 person complaining about the hum.  A few others confirmed if they put their ear next to the device they can hear something.  Most say nothing.  A whole lot has been made by a little.  As I said, I have a Jan Production run unit.  Not a beta... but it is an early run.  ZERO hum.  

it is 8k, a whole lot of money.  Many dacs to consider in that price.  Overseas does make other brands a bit more economical and easier to get. 

if it was not for the incredible trade in (full value) from PSA I probably would not have been able to swing this unit.  the MK1 was a class A component for years.  With steady updates.  I look foward to getting many years with the MKII.  Twice as much memory to work with.  All inputs are isolated.  More features to come (yeah some say promised from start but they went production already)  

I have pointed many to the MK1 for good deals online and with the forums help there are so many tweaks (with the help of lead designer Ted) you can buy and DIY that makes it as close to you can get to the MKII.  its an amazing value.

But your KTE is too. I ordered the RED streamer.  6 week wait.. 

“I will be saying hello to the Holo Audio KTE Spring DAC! ”

@dcpillai 

I believe this would be a sound move, I’ve heard nothing but high praises. Which version of Spring DAC you would be auditioning? 

@lwin @vernv @fittebd @dchang05 @ozon8r Thanks for confirming that there is no hum on your MK II DACs, and for confirming how very good the MK II is! However, due to the fact that there is no 30 day trial period in Malaysia, and exchanges are also dicey (from a consumer perspective), I have decided to wait for about a year before acquiring the MK II. In the meantime, I will be saying hello to the Holo Audio KTE Spring DAC! 

@lalitk  @speedthrills @deadhead1000 Sadly, I am in agreement with you gents. Decided to wait for PSA to iron out the problem, confirm its been resolved and then make my purchase, hopefully in 2024. Will be dreaming of it though!!

@mikedc Based on the statements made by PSA, i.e. that the hum is a "feature", and that they had informed their own forum of the issue even before releasing the DAC, it looks unlikely that they will swap out the faulty part. Not exactly the best way to reward early adopters ... Hope they do though.

I had the MK I DAC which I traded in for the MK II. The MK I was a very good DAC but the MK II is in another league altogether. I have had it in my system for almost 2 months and I don’t think I have ever purchased a piece of gear that made such a dramatic improvement in the sound quality of my system. I have not noticed any hum from the DAC and for those on the fence remember that PS Audio has a 30 day in home trial.

Odd that actual MK 2 owners are reporting zero hum here, yet Ted acknowledges there is a capacitor that hums. The fact the hum is inconsistent or intermittent or nonexistant in many cases is curious - since the capacitor in question is in the power supply, perhaps the variation is due to the variable quality of the AC on tap in each owner's house?

Speedthrills, my living room system (not to be compared to yours) has a Topping E50 and used to have an LG TV. Although the TV's optical output did work with the DAC, there were constant and very short dropouts that drove me crazy. Topping's customer support advised that it was "a known incompatibility" with LG TVs.

That was a good enough excuse for me to upgrade to a larger Sony TV which works perfectly with my Topping DAC. If you happen to have at hand a TV of a different brand it might be worth your while to try it with your DAC and possibly rule out the same issue I had.

When I ordered new DSDac yesterday,I was told it will not  be ready to ship until May 2023.

I have a Directstream Junior, about 5 years old. No issues and in general I like it. I t has no hum. I tried the optical in the other day from an optical out on my TV- set to PCM- and got no sound. I can't determine yet if its an issue with the optical input itself or somehow that the optical out from my Vizio is "readable" by the DAC- though its been readable by my Sonos sound bar. I'm going to test hte optical out from a Bluesound Vault to see if that works into the PS DAC though. I run the DAC into a Pass XP10, that goes into a Passs 250.8 which feeds a pair of Wilson Sasha 2. No hum at all and it sounds great. I'm waiting a year or so to see how the reviews are on the newest PS DAC and to see if prices on used DCS Bartok's soften up a little. 

I believe that the buzz or hum they are referring to is a component on a board. Maybe a transistor or something like that.My MK2 is dead silent and a very good bargain. I don't think you will find a better DAC for the money.

As far as their pricing goes their trade in program is awesome and if you actually pick up the phone and give them a call you will be surprised at the  pricing when it is time to stop kicking the tires and get your checkbook out.

All in all they have been a very good bunch to deal with over the last 5 or 6 years that I have owned their equipment.

Interesting. I almost went with the PS Audio MK. II, but got a very nice deal on an Ayon Audio Kronos Signature DAC. Like Ozon8r's post above, I am running a HiFi Rose RS150B via AES (Voodoo Amati) into the Kronos. Although the Rose is a great piece with a very good DAC, I am way impressed with the Ayon tube dac. It is also built exceedingly well (solid) which adds to my enjoyment (something about solid construction and industrial looks)

I have all of PS Audios BHK line their direct stream SACD and 2x P20 power regenerators. I’ve had problems with the BHK preamp each time I sent it in they gave me a new one as a replacement, right now it sounds great but it’s really finicky about tubes and is not dead quiet but it sounds so good. I have a direct stream DAC mk1 with a bridge 2 and it’s good so i bought the MK 2 about a month ago and still have a month until it ships I got $4500 credit trade in and since the streamer is delayed also PS Audio said I didn’t have to send in the old direct stream until the streamer comes out. People are going crazy about the new DAC it has a lot of horsepower in the programmable chips for future updates. Can’t loose.

I purchased a PS Audio DirectStream MK II, my first PS Audio gear, and it arrived about a month ago. I’m familiar with the thread regarding hum. It’s a head scratcher and I can’t make any sense of it. 
That said, this Dac is mind blowing good. Although I have experienced hum and ground loop in other older equipment and know how frustrating it is trying to resolve , the MK II is dead quiet. I find it difficult to turn off as the music keeps sucking me in for “just one more” track. I’m running Roon on a 2013 Mac Pro with both Qobuz and Tidal and a small library of DSD 256 files to a Rose 150b, then to the MK II via AQ Coffee USB, onto a PrimaLuna EVO 400 integrated and finally out to Klipsch speakers. The MK II dac provides significantly more detail and 3D sound stage than the Rose 150b internal dac although the latter is very good as well. I was influenced to buy intrigued by the inclusion of two FGPAs and ability to galvanically isolate various inputs and outputs. 

I have the MK1 and have been very happy with the sound and the quality. However, even though they had a really great upgrade deal for a short time, I decided to wait, this without even knowing about any hum problem. Some like to live on the edge. But me, I let others be the Guinea Pigs. Besides, I'd like to hear a bit more feedback from actual users, the MK1 came out some time ago and I'd like to hear if the MK2 can compete (sound and cost wise) with the latest DAC's out there. 

I'm surprised Paul let something go out the door that wasn't ready.  Although they sort of did the same thing with the first Bridge for the PerfectWave DAC.  What is there plan for existing customers when the new, correct part comes in?  Are they going to swap out the wrong part?

I am a happy owner of DS MK2, and there is no hum coming from mine, not even when I put my ear within 3" of it. I have their power generator too, and it is quiet too.  

My only concern about PS AUDIO is when they went online to consumer direct sale's they did not change the prices where you can get 20-40 from dealers before 

Paul is great guy but I really don’t understand it yes of course you can also get great resale / trade in price from dealers  

because of that Paul I’m Out 😌😉☺️

I would never buy anything with a 60hz hum totally a poor design .

I have owned for over a month. Zero hum.  I have on Orea. But even before never heard.  Is it next to in order to change settings. Nothing. 

While not on the same level as the DirectStream DAC, I purchased a Stellar DAC a few years ago. The unit I purchased had to be sent in for repair for the optical port immediately after purchase, constant audio dropouts, traced back to the unit. The second time was for a capacitor issue where they replaced the entire unit. I was sitting there listening one night and it damn near blew out my right channel. Pretty sure it damaged my hearing too. I would never buy another piece of their gear. In fact I still have the new one boxed up in my closet which will probably go on Ebay. 

I would never buy anything with a 60hz hum totally a poor design .

“I am leaning towards waiting” 

I would too or move on to something else. I wouldn’t buy a component with a known issue, period! 

this is part of a very long thread on the PS forums...check it out...I believe the hum is supposedly from the unit itself...

Is the hum just coming from the unit itself or is it being transmitted to the speaker output?

ozzy