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Expensive Dac to keep or cheaper and change overtime

Good evening all, I was wondering if people had thoughts about dacs and changing over time versus keeping an expensive unit that is upgraded.  I currently have a Gustard A22 that I do enjoy , I use I2s for SACD and USB for streaming (mainly Amazon) I have wondered about a PS Audio directstream mk2 that is said to be upgraded via new software which sounds good rather than the evolution of cheaper dacs.i have read that the previous PS Audio has been a model for 8 years which sounds reassuring. I use a Primaluna Evo 300i with Zu Audio Soul 6 , the Gustard  A22 with a Node (latest version) though that might change.,I have a PS Audio Power plant 12 , ZU Undertone Mk2 with cables by Zu and Nordost.  Any advice would be appreciated. 

grahams248
jond's avatar
jond
5,687 posts
 

Hallelujah @charles1dad 😎

curtdr
348 posts
 

@charles1dad  +1 "the merits and longevity of really well designed, engineered and implemented DACs stand the test of time easily. Things do improve and change over time but I believe this is often greatly overstated."

 

lrlacosse's avatar
lrlacosse
47 posts
 

Upgrade from an A22?😕  

I guess I'm in a different level of "Audiophile".

philgo01
68 posts
 

@grahams248 One word of caution with PSAudio DACsis its I2S pinouts are not configurable which means to play DSD layer of SACDs, you have to have PSAudio’s transport. There are DSD capable DACs with I2S (over HDMI, over RJ45 etc) that are configurable so that one has more flexibility with brands of SACD transports.

 

Curious, how do you stream Amazon Music (HD?) ? I just found a super inexpensive streamer that lets me to use native Amazon Music app on tablet/phone to stream to it in the track’s given native resolution (up to 24 bit/196khz). Other option I have is to use HEOS app on Marantz/Denon but it's usability is a bit rough especially compared to Amazon  Music app itself. Thx.

akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,176 posts
 

@lwin 

Speculation? Hardly,

have I heard it ? Yes … nobody’s claiming that it’s not a good DAC,,

in a bakeoff against a dcS (model escapes me for the moment …) and the BRYSTON BDA3, all three were played in a $50k system, …my buddy and I thought all three were great . 

The point: there wasn’t a noticeable difference for us  between them .  Other than price. If I had to give a forced nod to guess at the best ( it would  be the dcS . The BRYSTON digital player source feeding it and the high-end amp , speakers, and cables together in system, seemed to be a big positive influencer and not just  the dac alone.

my only point is that most digital music is mastered  at 24/192 and below with a largest at even lower rez, a super rez capability is fine nice-to-have but not any driving differentiator for many for now,…

my take: until the future recordings get there in the unknown future, I’ll stick with high build superiority at a more competitive price for the tried and true for now. ..

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