PS Audio Directstream DAC?

By default, the PS Audio DirectStream DAC is a wonderful performer, but I wouldn’t characterize it as analog sounding. It can have some etchedness and brittleness to it when compared to more expensive endgame DACs, but it is quite hard to beat in the $3K used range. I owned one for many years, and I went through all the possible modification upgrades (upgraded transformers, linear power supply mods, isolation tweaks, etc) and all made a profound difference in performance that brought it closer to analog. I did find the Lampizator Baltic 3 to be more “analog sounding” but less defined and resolving as the PS Audio.

For $3K used and “analog sounding”, consider R2R DACs, including Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE or IV SE or Aqua La Voce. 

@w123ale Even if you have an older Aurender, I would leverage that for the streaming and serving. It is documented on PS Audio forums, and it is the same for  my experience, that the Bridge II introduces some digital noise and is a bit fatiguing compared to external streamers. I heard improved performance by removing it. 

From my first post, I want to clarify that I am a very big supporter of this DAC even though I don’t classify it as analog sounding. I tend to be very critical of these things and have gotten spoiled being able to play with a lot of electronics in the $15-40K range. In its price range, especially used, it is very, very good. 

With the number of used units popping up, definitely invest in a latest generation unit vs one that has been upgraded from the PerfectWave DAC. the two may sound sonically equivalent but the native DirectStream will be years newer and likely offer better longevity. The PS Audio warranty is also fully transferable and you might be able to find a used unit with some warranty remaining. 

@danager The Edcor transformer upgrade gave the DSD a better sense of ease and lowered noise floor. It helps to eliminate some of the grittiness that you likely don’t even realize is there. The delivery is a bit more confident, adding a bit more weight to the voicing, and the soundstage widens and heightens. In short, it becomes more musical in a very good way. 

The linear power supply upgrade helped significantly in other areas as well. That really helped with reducing the noise floor to being much more black. Detail retrieval improved considerably, as did the immediacy and speed of bass and treble.  Both upgrades were quite complimentary, and I did them months apart from each other. 

There is a lot of discussion on both upgrades on PS Audio Forum threads called Modding the DirectStream DAC. That said, it’s a really lengthy thread with 4,000 posts, but it is possible to search the thread for “Edcor”, the model number, or “transformer” and see the results from the community. I think the feedback gets good in early-mid 2021.