New PS Audio Directstream DAC

[jap]

View attachment 14222

Not the best picture, but here's inside of it.

The RCA/Spdif and AES/EBU inputs appear to missing.

 

[tboooe]

I pulled the trigger on the TotalDAC D1-Dual. It is magnifique balanced into the BHSE. Still have some optimization to do though. USB from my windows 7 laptop creams the spdif or optical from the logitech touch (probably no surprise) but now I need to find out how much more I can push it, so the offramp is one possibility. I'd love to keep the convenience of the logitech music server if I can.

I may have been hallucinating, but with JRiver and the USB input last night, I thought I heard a big gain playing back WAV vs. FLAC of the same track...............have to follow that up.


Rather than hijack this thread, I think I'll move my optimization efforts to another thread.

Best wishes


Marty

For PC audio I highly suggest using Windows Server2012 and Audiophile Optimizer on top of that for incredible improvement over Win7.

 

[rockitman]

The RCA/Spdif and AES/EBU inputs appear to missing.

View attachment 14227

I asked the question over on the PS Audio discussion site. I can't imagine it wouldn't have those inputs...I2S, XLR and RCA

 

[jap]

I asked the question over on the PS Audio discussion site. I can't imagine it wouldn't have those inputs...I2S, XLR and RCA

In the picture that wizard posted, you can see the I2S/HDMI, USB and toslink connectors, but as I posted
the RCA/spdif and AES/EBU connectors are not visable. Maybe the XLR connector is hidden by
that connector with the black cable.

 

[edorr]

The RCA/Spdif and AES/EBU inputs appear to missing.

View attachment 14227

How so. AES/EBU is on the left, coax next to it, and there are 2 x 12S (HDMI connector) on the right.

 

[rockitman]

In the picture that wizard posted, you can see the I2S/HDMI, USB and toslink connectors, but as I posted
the RCA/spdif and AES/EBU connectors are not visable. Maybe the XLR connector is hidden by
that connector with the black cable.

according to someone on their forum, both XLR and rca will still be available for digital input.

 

[jap]

How so. AES/EBU is on the left, coax next to it, and there are 2 x 12S (HDMI connector) on the right.

I was referring to the picture that wizard posted. Ted just posted a picture of the protoype board I cropped it down to show the inputs. I can now see the XLR connector, but the RCA/spdif(red dot) is missing. I can also see the black cable goes over the chassis and is connected to debug header which isn't on the production boards

 

[cat6man]

For PC audio I highly suggest using Windows Server2012 and Audiophile Optimizer on top of that for incredible improvement over Win7.

thanks for the suggestion, i had not heard of that.
i only used w7 as it was available on my work laptop and i downloaded a trial version of JRiver to evaluate the totalDAC.

I will most likely go with something like an offramp (to clean up logitech touch) or put together something linux based.
Anyone have suggestions for a linux based source (other than the computeraudiophile v3 stuff)?

 

[jap]

Anyone have suggestions for a linux based source (other than the computeraudiophile v3 stuff)?

Auraliti L1000.

http://www.auraliti.com/L1000.html

or the lower cost PK90.

http://www.auraliti.com/PK_Store.html

 

[michael123]

http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/PS-Audio-DirectStream.pdf

The problem is the PCM decoding process itself: whether a classic ladder-DAC or more modern multi-bit Sigma-Delta type, PCM processors universally mask some of the subtle cues in music, and no amount of upgrading, expenditure, tweaking or improvement can fix this fundamentally-flawed system.

It’s not enough to just convert PCM to DSD: Converting PCM to DSD can be an easy exercise using any number of computer software programs. Converting PCM to DSD properly, and in such a way as to reveal missing details in the music, is a serious technical challenge. DirectStream utilizes 66-bit fixed-point FIR filters, eliminates headroom issues common to PCM, flattens noise response in the 20-100kHz region, uses coefficients optimized for best sound rather than faster processing speed and optimizes hardware-specific operations not possible in software.

and I would say that Bruce is right

Because anytime you make a conversion, you degrade the sound. A copy can never be better than the original.....

If somebody wants to squeeze the last bit from the PCM recordings (which are 99% of the music there), I would vote for TotalDAC approach



--Michael

 

[Alrainbow]

If you use windows 7 or above get fidilizer. It helps. But the windows server 2012 is the way to go. If you use offramp you need a USB output. . It then converts to various outputs for your dac.

Al

 

[microstrip]

http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/PS-Audio-DirectStream.pdf[/url]






and I would say that Bruce is right

Originally Posted by Bruce B Because anytime you make a conversion, you degrade the sound. A copy can never be better than the original.....


If somebody wants to squeeze the last bit from the PCM recordings (which are 99% of the music there), I would vote for TotalDAC approach

--Michael

Michael,

IMHO you are changing the sense of the original words of Bruce B. Surely a copy can never be better than the original, but it does not mean that processing it can not make it sound better in real implementations. Please remember that by "sound better" I mean attract the preferences of audiophiles. The technical people developed the Direct Stream DAC, the PS-Audio marketing team did their job, our hears will be the final judges. Also IMHO, it is not the question of squeezing the last bit, it is squeezing the good bits and ignoring the bad bits, and adding some sugar.

BTW, although our hears will be the judges, it would be great to read the opinion of Bruce B on the sound of a real unit!

 

[michael123]

The DAC may sound good, yet the statement that converting (and there are multiple (!!) conversions along the process) PCM to DSDx10 will unmask hidden information from PCM.. is..

Actually, I never liked the high-rez material on EMM and Playback, the last one being a bit better
The sound was musical, .. but quite 'soft', loosing the edge of the high-rez.

Weiss from my listening experience was far more resolving in PCM.. If that matters, which is not always the case.

 

[Elberoth]

The DAC may sound good, yet the statement that converting (and there are multiple (!!) conversions along the process) PCM to DSDx10 will unmask hidden information from PCM.. is..

Even the PCM to 10xDSD is pure marketing, as the digital filter outputs 2xDSD data stream to the DAC - which is not uncommon.

 

[microstrip]

Even the PCM to 10xDSD is pure marketing, as the digital filter outputs 2xDSD data stream to the DAC - which is not uncommon.

We know that most of the time sentences from audiophile white papers sounds just like pure marketing, but this one comes from a company having a long tradition of reliable products, representing excellent value for money. I still have a vintage PS Audio Ultralink DAC and PSaudio Delta 200 in a secondary system and they still sound really good after thirty years. A good friend of mine owning the Wilson Maxx3 has a complete PSAudio current top system, wired with Nordost Valhalla2, and his system sounds great - I am sure he will be upgrading his DAC as soon as possible, so I hope I will be able to listen to it soon, looking for the hidden information.

 

[Geardaddy]

It is obviously a product worth hearing. Ted has a genuine pedigree along with a vision. I would be very intrigued to hear it compared to the Meitner MA-1 and PBD along with up sampling software to know if this is a quantum leap or not. It seems like more and more companies are spending energy to circumnavigate stock chips (Totaldac) and Lampizator with its "chipless" DSD.

 

[MylesBAstor]

 

[MylesBAstor]

 

[rockitman]

I hope you get a review copy sometime Myles.

 

[BlueFox]

Anyone have suggestions for a linux based source

Bryston BDP-1 or BDP-2.