Some Extra Axpona 2014 Pictures

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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Peter Breuninger

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Jul 20, 2010
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OUTSTANDING pics and eats.
 

bmoura

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Sep 6, 2013
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Miles, what was your initial take on the PS Audio DirectStream DAC? I see it made the extra pictures list !
 

Brian Walsh

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Jul 7, 2011
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Here is a photo of our room by Jason Serinus of Stereophile.

EssentialAudio_Stereophile_JVS.jpg
 

edorr

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May 10, 2010
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Miles, what was your initial take on the PS Audio DirectStream DAC? I see it made the extra pictures list !

Same here. You have a room, speakers and electronics. Impossible to "isolate" the impact of the DAC. If these guys want to impress an audience, they should bring two DACs (the PWD MK II and the new kid on the block), plug them in a preamp, use the same source (or replicate the source as well if needed) and switch between sources. No one ever does this for some reason. Puzzling to me, because they incur all this cost to showcase their product, and in the end they showcase nothing - might as well go the last mile....
 

microstrip

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bmoura

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Sep 6, 2013
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Same here. You have a room, speakers and electronics. Impossible to "isolate" the impact of the DAC. If these guys want to impress an audience, they should bring two DACs (the PWD MK II and the new kid on the block), plug them in a preamp, use the same source (or replicate the source as well if needed) and switch between sources. No one ever does this for some reason. Puzzling to me, because they incur all this cost to showcase their product, and in the end they showcase nothing - might as well go the last mile....

Agreed. Having a comparison with another DAC would be more interesting. Best bet may be to wait for the reviews to arrive.
 

edorr

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Agreed. Having a comparison with another DAC would be more interesting. Best bet may be to wait for the reviews to arrive.

Even better bet is to buy one, line it up (double blind) against the incumbent (MSB), and ship it right back for a refund if it disappoints. This is precisely what I am doing.
 

edorr

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I couldn't even say the room/system it was in sounded great.

It thought the room was was pretty decent in the high/mids, but I played one of my reference tracks for solid bass (Stevie Ray Vaughan - Tin Pan Alley), and even with the two subs they had in the room, the low registers disappointed. In fact, the same track in the (small) Lawrence room sounded better.
 

Dre_J

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Had good time in that room. Myles was in there when I showed up.

Guess who Nick's talking to? The guy that gave him the perfect opportunity to talk about one of the cool bias monitoring features of his amp. :)

Dre
 

bmoura

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
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Even better bet is to buy one, line it up (double blind) against the incumbent (MSB), and ship it right back for a refund if it disappoints. This is precisely what I am doing.

That would certainly be a good way to go since you can hear it and compare the new unit right in your system - and room.
 

JimmyS

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Sep 1, 2013
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Same here. You have a room, speakers and electronics. Impossible to "isolate" the impact of the DAC. If these guys want to impress an audience, they should bring two DACs (the PWD MK II and the new kid on the block), plug them in a preamp, use the same source (or replicate the source as well if needed) and switch between sources. No one ever does this for some reason. Puzzling to me, because they incur all this cost to showcase their product, and in the end they showcase nothing - might as well go the last mile....

I offered up my PWD MKII on Friday for comparison and was told no go by the owner of the room (not Paul).

So, instead I have a Playback MPD-3 in my basement on loan for comparison.
 

microstrip

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I offered up my PWD MKII on Friday for comparison and was told no go by the owner of the room (not Paul).

So, instead I have a Playback MPD-3 in my basement on loan for comparison.

IMHO making comparisons in a show environment would be poor marketing, independently of the conclusions. The outcome of single comparisons would depend a lot on the recording, and no one would be able or want to spend the whole day just listening to a single room.

Although I do not care about fast comparisons carried in shows, I understand that PS Audio does not become associated with such practices. But I look forward to reading reports of comparisons of our members carried in their systems they know well.
 

Alrainbow

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Dec 11, 2013
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Myles your honesty is music to our ears. Great reading
And I look forward to more.

Edorr stop wining most do not have the money
To spend that you do. And as to when did you believe
The DS would in anyway be on the level of the MSB
dacs we have. Besides the fact it's a room and could
Not be attributed to the whole system either
Al
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
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It would have been interesting to listen to these Focal's.
Thank you for the picture, Myles.

Best sound of the show IMO. There is a used pair on audiogon for $36K. If I had the stamina for for logistical nightmare of selling and packing up my MM3's and installing these I would be tempted....
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
Myles your honesty is music to our ears. Great reading
And I look forward to more.

Edorr stop wining most do not have the money
To spend that you do. And as to when did you believe
The DS would in anyway be on the level of the MSB
dacs we have. Besides the fact it's a room and could
Not be attributed to the whole system either
Al

A lot of folks on the forum here spend a multiple of what I spend on audio. Paul claimed the DS beat the EMM Labs DAC2X - bold claim. If true, this puts it in giant killer category. We'll see. I'm keeping an open mind and will line it up for double blind shootout against the MSB. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.
 

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