PS Audio Direct Stream

Ozzy, they are just shipping them so that is way no user reviews. Unless you count the one or two of the beta/alpha testers that are also users.

Srwooten, I appreciate the info but can you give any examples of other DAC's you have heard that the PSA DS overshadowed? That would help so as to have a reference point.

And anyone else that have heard the DS that would care to add.

Ozzy, REGARDLESS of what the news letter states NOT all of them have gone out. Many of them want out this past week.
Here is a post by Paul M very early this morning about this and the new web site forums.

"As for DirectStream, I just flew in tonight. I have a quick 10K race I am running in the morning and then all day Sunday and most of the day Monday I am auditioning DirectStreams in Music Room One. We should be able to ship all that we promised if I can get through them all before I leave for Texas on Tuesday morning. It's a bit difficult for me right now, but I swear to you I am doing my best."

Try and be patient for a few more days for new owners to post their impressions. Maybe they are so blown away by the sound they hear they can not tear them selves away yet. Ha, ha.

Ozzy, one on the PS Audio forum just got his and one on Aidioshark gets his by Fri.

So hopefully we will start to get more feedback in a week or two.

Trying to judge the sound in a room full of bodies is difficult at best.
One of our audio club members had the club over to hear his system in his dedicated room that had room treatments just done by one of the best in the industry.
It was my first time that I heard his system. When the room was filled the system was very unimpressive. But once the seating was brought down to a more realistic level it was like we were in a total different room and system.

A friend who is also a reviewer has a DS in for review. He is doing some burn in at the moment.

I will be able to hear the DS sometime over the next few weeks. I will be able to compare the DS with some other DACs in his system that I am familiar with.

I was one of the first to own the PSA PerfectWave and then did the upgrade to the MKII. I sold the PW MKII about a year ago because at the time I felt that there were other DACs that were passing the PW by in sound quality and the lack of DSD playback.

At the time I bought the exaSound e20 MKIII with the .082 Clock upgrade (definitely makes a difference). With an upgraded outboard power supply (I did a Paul Hynes) it competes with DACs costing twice as much in IMO.

I find the DS very intriguing. In some ways it takes a similar approach to the handling of the music files as Playback Designs, Meitner and EMM Labs. But adds its own twist.

I hope it sounds as great as it is made out to be.

Gentlemen, most of these impressions are from DS that have less then 50 hours on them and at best a little over that. Wait until there is at least a good 100+, but I would expect that the DS might need as much as its predecessor the PW to show its true nature, so 400-500 hours would not be out of line.

Some of the reports that mention the softness etc, are from people that have reported that the PW needed 400-500 hours to show how it truly sounded.

Check post 923. He mentions how it is starting to improve etc.

http://www.psaudio.com/forum/directstream-all-about-it/directstream-dac-first-impressions/page-31/

I also hope to hear a DS at one, possible two, more fellow audiophiles systems over the next few weeks.

There will be opportunities to hear other well regarded DACs in those systems also. MSB and Lampizator as examples.

So the next few weeks should be very interesting when it comes to DACs.

Ozzy, do not read too much into those postings that the PW sounds better then the DS. I believe all of those postings are based on DS that have very little burn in hours on them. Even the PW needed to have 400+ hours on it to reach its full potential.

Even now there are postings about how the sound is evolving as more hours are on their DS.

Until there are 400+ hours on these DS on think the jury is still out.

Just like a Lampizator that has new Duelund Caps it will take 400-500 hours of play before it will sound its best.

Remember, the DS design uses transformers in the low signal output pathway and they will take many hours to burn in somewhat like the Duelund caps.

Kana813 Funny, I was thinking the same thing just last night.
I was thinking, OK what can be upgraded? Caps, power supply, fuses etc. And how much of, if any, improvement will it bring.

Matt, I agree. Even with the reference to the Diamond it does not give enough of a reference to relate to. Mind you I have heard the Diamond and I thought at the time it was the best DAC I had heard but that was several years ago and that is a VERY long time in Audio terms.

Even the first review of the DS only compared it to the PW DAC. Hell, I would hope it was better.